


To Hell and Back

by songofhell



Series: Just Business [3]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe- No Supernatural, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-10
Updated: 2019-09-16
Packaged: 2019-10-07 13:42:49
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 12
Words: 29,361
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17366933
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/songofhell/pseuds/songofhell
Summary: Lucifer was no idle threat – there was a reason Crowley had been sucking up to him all these years. And of course, he had never expected anything until Dean had come along. He really was pretty awesome at ruining things for Crowley, apparently – first his blackmail ring, and now this.Since getting out of prison, life for Dean Winchester has been interesting, to say the least. He and Crowley have gone from leading a criminal enterprise together to raising a son. He may not exactly like how they got there, but he wouldn't change it for the world. The problem is, if Lucifer finds out that Crowley has betrayed him, there may be nothing Dean can do to hold onto this new life that he loves.





	1. Adjustments

“You know you don’t have to get a job, right?” Crowley had said when Dean brought it up. “I have plenty of money to support us.”

“I will go stir-crazy if I don’t have something to do,” Dean had insisted. “No way am I going to just sit around in my boxers waiting for you to get home every day.”

“A pity.”

“I’ll tell them I can’t start until Gavin starts school next semester,” he had continued, ignoring him. “So the kid won’t be alone all day.”

“Thank you.”

So that was why Dean had spent the past several days going to various job interviews, only to be shot down because, ‘we need someone who can start sooner than that.’ Yeah, he was sure that it had nothing to do with the fact that he had killed a notable political figure and had only fairly recently gotten out of prison for it. Maybe finding a decent job would be a tad more difficult than he had anticipated.

“Well, you seem qualified, Dean,” his most recent interviewer stated. “But given your history… I’m going to have to talk to management and see what they have to say.”

He nodded. “Well, thanks for being honest,” he said grimly. And he had actually legitimately wanted this job, too. It may not be working on cars, but construction work was right up his alley, and this was supposed to be a pretty good company.

They both rose to their feet and shook hands. “I’ll get back to you with what they say,” the interviewer stated.

“I appreciate it.”

He left the building and got back into the car with a sigh. Even though it hadn’t been a definite no, he knew that no management team would want a criminal working for their company. Maybe this was useless.

His phone began ringing and he picked it up. “Hello?”

“Hey,” his uncle Bobby replied. “How’d the interview go?”

“Crappy,” he muttered as he pulled out of the parking lot.

“Where was this one at?”

“Pure Renovation Company. And don’t even tell me how good a company it is, I already know.”

“Ah, they’re not that great.”

A small smile tugged at the corner of Dean’s lips. He knew Bobby was just trying to make him feel better, but it meant a lot, all the same. “Thanks, Bobby.”

“You got anything going on tonight?”

“Crowley works the night shift, so I’ve gotta be home with Gavin.” If he was being perfectly honest, he still found it a little odd being so open with his family. He had been lying to them for so long that he had begun to believe that an honest relationship would never be possible again. He was glad he had been wrong, though. As messy as everything had been a week ago, perhaps Sam had had a point when he’d said that it was all for the best.

“You could always bring him over here,” he suggested.

“I’d love to, Bobby, really, but… the kid’s been through a lot. I’m not sure he’s ready for all the introductions.”

“It’s just me,” he pointed out.

“Yeah, I know, and it might be fine, I just don’t want to rush him into anything.”

“Alright, I get it. Being a dad comes first.”

He laughed, shaking his head. “Yeah, that is… _so_ weird to think about.”

“You’re telling me. You’re not old enough to have a thirteen-year-old kid!”

“Hey, I got around when I was…” He did the math in his head. “Nine.”

“Very funny. And you’re sure this is something you want to do?” he checked, but there was no judgement in his voice.

“Yeah,” he answered without hesitation. “I’m sure.” Sure, he had had many moments this past week where he had wondered what the hell he was thinking, but when it came down to it, Gavin was a good kid, and he was glad to be in his life.

“Well, then know that I’m supportive. And you know if you need _anything,_ help watching him, some fatherly advice – I know I didn’t raise you boys, but-”

“You might as well have,” he cut him off firmly. “You were always like a father to us, Bobby. Sam would say the same thing.”

“Well, that means a lot,” he muttered, his voice getting a bit rougher with emotion. “Anyway, how’s Crowley handling everything?” he quickly changed the subject.

“Uh, you know – he’s adjusting.”

“I can’t imagine that guy being a father. Or a good partner, for that matter.”

Dean rolled his eyes. “Bobby, he’s great. Well, a great partner, anyway. He gave up a lot for me.”

“And he really is done with all that?” he asked, a note a skepticism in his voice.

Dean didn’t let his uncle’s suspicions get to him; he knew that this was just how things were going to be for a while. Thanks to Sam and Castiel’s ultimatum, Crowley had given up his illegal enterprise, and while his choice more or less proved that his family had misjudged him, they still weren’t going to trust him overnight. They were also no longer trying to get him arrested, though, so that was something.

“Yeah, he is,” he said calmly, but firmly. “And it’s like a weight has been lifted off his shoulders.”

“Well then, maybe you should tell your brother thank you, instead of making him feel bad,” Bobby said pointedly.

“I’m not trying to make him feel bad!” he exclaimed in exasperation. “But I’m not going to say thanks for him going behind my back to blackmail my boyfriend. And it’s not like I’m not talking to him – we spoke on the phone yesterday!”

“Yeah, but you haven’t told him you forgive him, either.”

Dean sighed. Bobby was right, but the thing was, he wasn’t sure if he _could_ forgive Sam, yet.

“Dean, I know there was a lot of trust broken between you and Sam,” Bobby continued gently. “But he’s not the one who started that. He only did what he thought was right when he found out that you’d been lying to him for months.”

“Yeah, I know. He still could’ve, you know, _talked_ to me about it, instead of immediately running off and getting Cas involved.”

“And you could’ve talked to him in the beginning. I’m not saying that he couldn’t have handled things better, but it goes both ways.”

“Yeah, I get it,” he muttered. He still wasn’t ready to tell Sam that he forgave him, though. But it wasn’t like he was giving his brother the cold shoulder; he was already making plans to see him when he’d be home for Christmas break. They’d patch things up with time.

He said goodbye to Bobby as he pulled up to the gated driveway. When he had first moved in with Crowley, he had found the fact that you couldn’t get onto the property without a passcode ridiculous, but now he had to admit, it was kind of nice. At least they were guaranteed not to be bothered.

When he walked into the house, he had only a moment to wonder which room he’d find Crowley in, and then he heard the shouting. He sighed and followed the raised voices up to Gavin’s room.

“You think you can just boss me around!”

“Oh, if you want to run your own life, go right ahead! At thirteen-years-old, I’m sure you’re perfectly capable!”

“At least I actually know myself, unlike you! You just assume you know what’s best for me, and-”

“What’s going on in here?” Dean asked casually as he turned into the room.

Gavin’s eyes flickered to him, the anger in his expression fading slightly, and then he looked down.

“Gavin has decided that he doesn’t want to go to school,” Crowley said coolly.

Dean sighed. “Is that so, Gavin?” he asked evenly, attempting to meet his gaze.

“I don’t belong there,” Gavin muttered to the floor.

“Why not?” he asked reasonably.

“I’m probably behind – I mean, the schooling I got wasn’t great. And I won’t fit in.”

“Hey,” he said gently, walking over to sit next to him on the bed. “You’re not going to be expected to know everything on your first day – the teachers know your old school won’t have taught everything exactly the same as them, and they’ll assume you’ve forgotten most of the important stuff over break, anyway. Hell, I never paid attention in school at all, and I did just fine.”

“I didn’t even go to a real school, though. I don’t even know what a real school is _like.”_

“Well, I’m not gonna lie to you – it won’t always be fun. There will be times that you absolutely hate it. But you know what? You’re strong. You came out of ten years of slavery with a good head on your shoulders, and not many could do that. Being completely honest here, I think you’re gonna do great in school.”

He still looked skeptical.

“But hey, you know what?” Dean continued. “If you try it, and it’s really not working out – and I don’t just mean you don’t like having homework – if things are really bad, we’ll see if we can figure something else out.”

“Really?” he looked up hopefully.

He nodded. “I promise.” He squeezed his shoulder reassuringly. “But you have to really try. And if it’s just a matter of understanding what you’re being taught, my brother’s coming into town next week, and he’s a huge nerd. I’ll make sure you get his number, so that you can bug him at all hours with questions. How’s that sound?”

“You really think he’ll know the answers?”

“Oh, I’m sure of it. _But_ you have to agree to give school a try for at least a semester. Do we have an agreement?”

Gavin thought about it for a moment, and then he nodded. “Yes, I’ll try.”

“Glad to hear it.” He glanced up at Crowley, who was looking at him in mild amazement. “Could you do one more thing for me?”

“What?” Gavin asked.

“Apologize to your father for yelling at him.”

He deflated slightly, sighing as he reluctantly turned to Crowley. “Sorry, Father.”

“Crowley?” Dean looked at him pointedly.

Crowley sighed in a manner much like his son’s. “And I’m sorry for not handling things better.”

“Good.” He rose to his feet with a grin. “So, that’s all settled, then?”

“Yes. And now I have to be leaving for work. I’ll see you in the morning, Gavin.”

“Alright,” Gavin muttered as he grabbed his book off the nightstand and laid down.

“I’ll walk you out,” Dean said, and he fell into step beside Crowley as they walked down the hall.

“I don’t know how you do that,” Crowley sighed.

He shrugged. “You just gotta know how to talk to him.”

“Yes, and I don’t.”

“What did you even say when he told you that he didn’t want to go to school?”

“That it wasn’t his choice – he was going and that was final.”

Dean sighed. “Well yeah, there’s your problem. You’ve got to let him have a voice, show that you care about what he thinks and feels – barking orders is only going to make him not want to listen.”

“I just wanted him to know that he couldn’t get away with not doing something just because he didn’t want to.”

“Yeah, but think of it this way – would that have worked on you?”

Crowley opened his mouth then closed it again, looking away.

Dean chuckled. “You two are a lot alike. It’s one of the reasons I know how to deal with him so well.”

He looked up at him, gratefulness in his expression. “I am so glad you are with me in this.”

“Of course I am,” he said with a smile. They had reached the front door now, and as they turned to face each other Dean could see the dread reflected in the backs of Crowley’s eyes. “Have you decided if you’re telling Lucifer about him?”

“I don’t want him to know. I don’t want him to have anything that he could ever use against me.” He sighed. “But if I ever need to leave work because of him and he finds out that way, he’s going to wonder why I’m hiding things from him and, knowing him, will start looking into what else I might be hiding.”

“I can take care of anything that comes up while you’re at work,” he pointed out. “Even if I do manage to get a job, I’ll make them let me off.”

“I can’t let you handle everything,” he protested. “I have to be able to do _something_ for my son.” He shook his head. “I just don’t want Lucifer to have any reason to suspect I might be keeping something from him. It’s too dangerous.”

He frowned slightly, concerned. “He still acting weird?”

He nodded. “I know he feels like he’s losing all the people closest to him – I mean, Lilith, Azazel, Alastair… then there’s me.”

“What about Meg?”

He shrugged. “The only reason she gets any recognition from him is because she’s Azazel’s daughter. She likes to pretend that she’s one of his most trusted, but she’s a long way off.”

“Okay, so you’re the only one of his top people left. Think he’s worried something will happen to you?”

“It’s possible…. Not that he’d actually be concerned about my wellbeing, but I can’t imagine he’d want to lose everyone closest to him. I’m just worried that he thinks I’m the reason I’m the only one left – that I did something to ensure that.”

“Well, you did.”

“Hey, Lilith was his own doing. And he could have gotten Azazel out of prison well before he did, which rather makes me think he was punishing him for something-”

“Still can’t imagine he’d have wanted you to help put him there.”

“No, definitely not. I’m not the one that killed him, though…. Maybe he’s cracking down on finding just cause to fire Castiel – he could always be blaming him for Alastair too, what with his mission to make the prison a better place, and all.”

“But this just started last month,” Dean pointed out, shaking his head slightly. “I killed Azazel months ago. And it’s been about as long since you got Alastair arrested.”

“Yes, and I was his first suspect in that, before we managed to divert him. I suppose he could be starting to rethink things. Maybe he’s realized that I’m the only person in the prison capable of getting one over on Alastair.”

“If he is investigating you, you might want to think about… getting out.” Lucifer was no idle threat – there was a reason Crowley had been sucking up to him all these years. And of course, he had never expected anything until Dean had come along. He really was pretty awesome at ruining things for Crowley, apparently – first his blackmail ring, and now this.

“I just gave up my enterprise to keep my job at the prison, I am _not_ running away because I’m scared. I just need to remind him that he can trust me. Then hopefully I’ll be able to gain enough leverage to take him down once and for all.”

“I hope you’re right,” Dean muttered, his forehead creased with worry.

“So do I.” He pulled him into a kiss before he turned and walked out the door.


	2. A Family Dinner

“This is Dean,” Dean answered his phone a few days later, putting down his fork and leaning back in his chair.

“Hi Dean, this is Nathaniel with Pure Renovation Company,” the voice on the other end of the line spoke, and Dean felt his heart rate increasing. “I was just calling to let you know that you got the job.”

He huffed a breath of surprise. That had _not_ been what he had been expecting to hear. “Really?” he found himself asking.

“Yes, management was very impressed by you. I have down here that you can start January seventh?”

“Yes, sir,” he said excitedly.

“Excellent. Then we will see you at eight a.m.”

“See you then.” He hung up the phone with a grin, turning to face Crowley’s expectant expression and Gavin’s curious one. “I got a job!”

“Congratulations.” Crowley tipped his glass to him. “Where at?”

“Pu-” He broke off as his phone started ringing again. “Hang on.” He answered his phone with a smile. “Hey, Benny.”

“Hey, brother. Sorry it’s been a while – I’ve been a little busy.”

“Don’t worry about it. I’ve been busy, too. What’s been going on?”

“You know how the holidays tend to make you sentimental. It got me thinking that I might want to try lookin’ into my family.”

“Yeah?” Dean asked curiously as he leaned forward onto his elbow. “You find anything out?”

“Well, my brother passed away before I went to prison – I’d heard that, but… turns out, I have a niece.”

His eyebrows shot up. “Seriously?”

“Yeah. Took last week off work to go visit her. It was nice.”

“That’s great.”

Crowley cleared his throat pointedly. “Are you planning to talk on the phone all the way through dinner?”

He rolled his eyes, then flipped him off as he got to his feet and walked out of the room. “I’ve kinda got some news, too,” he said as he walked down the hall a little ways so as not to disturb Crowley’s ideal of a peaceful dinner.

“Oh?” Benny prompted.

“Yeah…” He gave a small laugh. “A lot has changed, actually.”

“And I’m guessing that has something to do with your brother being in town a couple weeks ago.”

“Oh, yeah. I had my brother, my uncle, myself, Crowley, and _Castiel_ all in a room together for Thanksgiving.”

“Castiel? What was he doin’ there?”

“Pretty sure Sammy has the hots for him,” he said with a roll of his eyes

“What is it with your family and prison guards?”

“Shut up,” he snapped.

“But you actually introduced Crowley to your family?” Benny continued, his surprise audible in his voice.

“Yeah well, I didn’t exactly have a choice. I hadn’t counted on Sam and Cas getting so close; they were able to piece things together. I’d hoped if I just admitted that Crowley and I were dating, that’d be enough, but Sam kept digging, and… well, he ended up threatening to get Crowley arrested.”

He whistled. “How’d that pan out?”

“Crowley shut down shop. He’s officially just a prison guard.”

There was a moment of stunned silence. “And you doubted that he loves you.”

“Shut up,” he grumbled, uncomfortably.

“You know he did it for you-”

“Yeah, shut up,” he repeated, cutting him off. “That’s not all, either.”

“There’s something _more_ than Crowley givin’ up his life’s work to be with you?”

“He has a son.”

There was a pause. “Who does?” he asked slowly.

“Crowley. His name’s Gavin – his mother dropped him off on our doorstep a little over a week ago. He’s a good kid.”

“Wow. And here I was shocked by having a niece.”

Dean chuckled as he leaned up against the wall.

“You two actually gonna raise him?” Benny asked.

“Yeah. I mean, we considered adoption, but Crowley wants to try, and honestly, I think that’s for the best. Kid’s been through a lot, he needs his father.”

He hummed thoughtfully, taking a moment to mull it all over. “Did Crowley know he had a son?” he eventually asked.

“Yeah, he knew.”

“But you didn’t?”

“Nope.” He sighed. “It’s just par for the course with Crowley, though. I mean, he hates talking about his past.”

“And it drives you crazy,” he said matter-of-factly.

“Of course it does,” Dean said defeatedly. “He knew things about me before I even met him, and I don’t even know his parents’ names!”

“I’m sure you could do some research, figure it out,” Benny suggested.

“Yeah, I could ask Sam – because I’m pretty sure that he knows more about my boyfriend’s past than I do at this point – but I don’t want to find out that way. I want him to just tell me. I shouldn’t have to research my own boyfriend.”

“Sorry I brought it up.”

“It’s fine,” he sighed. “It’s just something I’m gonna have to learn to live with.”

“Best of luck to you.”

“Thanks. Well, I should probably get back to dinner.”

“Alright. Let me know if you want to grab a drink sometime.”

“Will do.” He hung up the phone with a sigh. He hadn’t even realized how much Crowley’s secretiveness about his past had been bothering him lately until Benny had brought it up. He knew that Crowley had had a bad childhood, that his mother had abandoned him, but couldn’t he tell him _something?_ Who were his parents? Where had he gone after his mother left? How exactly had Lilith rescued him from that? Anytime Dean asked him anything, he would dodge the question so well that Dean wouldn’t even realize it until the subject had changed and his opening was gone. It really was driving him crazy, but there was nothing he could do about it.

“Sorry for apparently breaking your unspoken ‘no phones at the dinner table’ policy,” he said good-naturedly as he walked back into he dinning room and reclaimed his seat, shoving back down the irritation that Benny had brought to the surface.

Crowley rolled his eyes. “I just think that setting a good example is important.”

Now Gavin rolled his eyes. “Yeah, now when I get a phone, I’m going to talk on it all through dinner all because of Dean.”

Dean laughed. “I’m so sorry for this horrible habit I have imparted on him!” he declared dramatically.

Crowley glared at them both, causing Dean to laugh harder.

“Alright, if it makes you happy,” Dean said as his laughter died down. He turned to Gavin. “Gavin, the only reason I answered the first call was because I was waiting to hear back from my interview, and I answered the second one because it was a friend I haven’t spoken to in weeks, and we had a lot to catch up on. It doesn’t mean it’s always okay to talk on the phone during dinner. So, please don’t pick up my bad habits or your father might literally kill me.”

“I understand,” Gavin said before turning back to Crowley. “But you know, father, I don’t think Dean’s the one you should be worried about me picking up bad habits from.”

Crowley’s gaze darkened slightly, and he looked away. “No, I suppose not.”

Dean sighed. “Gavin.”

“What?” Gavin shrugged. “It’s true. He’s a far worse person than you are.”

“That’s not fair to say. We both have our flaws-”

“Yeah, his just happens to be that he’s evil,” he said matter-of-factly.

There was a moment of silence as Gavin’s words seemed to echo in the room. Dean couldn’t make out the expression on Crowley’s face, but he could take a guess. “You don’t mean that,” he said as gently as he could.

“Yeah, I do,” Gavin insisted. “Mother told me what all he’s done. Do you even know everything?”

Dean hesitated. He could feel Crowley’s gaze on him, worried at what he would say, confirming that he didn’t even know the half of it. But he had to support Crowley, he had to make a point to Gavin. “I don’t need to,” he lied. “When I first met your father, I let the stories I’d heard sway my opinion of him, too. But I was wrong, and it took me a long time to realize that. The stories never give the full picture, and you can’t let them prevent you from getting to know your father for who he is.”

The corners of Crowley’s lips twitched up slightly into a soft smile, making Dean feel a little guilty for his half-lie.

“How did you realize it?” Gavin asked curiously.

“I just… saw things in him that didn’t add up to the person I had in my head. Eventually, I had to acknowledge that.”

“Well, so far everything’s adding up for me,” he said with a casual shrug.

Dean looked at him in disbelief. “Really? You expected your father to care about you? To want to make sure you’re happy and safe, even if it means a huge change for him? Look, I know he’s crap at showing how he feels, but he does love you.”

He looked thoughtful for a minute before he turned back to Crowley. “It must be nice, having someone else to speak for you, to make you sound better.” He rose to his feet before Dean could do more than open his mouth. “I’m done eating. I’ll be in my room.” And with that, he turned and walked away.

Dean started to get up to go after him, but Crowley placed a hand on his arm. “Don’t bother. He’ll only get more upset.” He sighed, shaking his head. “I swear, every time I think I’m making progress, that things are moving in the right direction, suddenly he’s reminding me how much he hates me again.”

“He doesn’t hate you,” he assured him.

“Really? What would you call that, then?”

“He feels betrayed that you weren’t there for him – it’s not the same thing. His entire life, when he thought of his father, all he had to go off of were the lies Lilith told him-”

“They weren’t lies, and you know it. She had so many truths she could tell to make me sound horrible, there would have been no point to lying.”

He bit his lip, feeling a little hopeful in the direction of the conversation, but he figured it wouldn’t last. “What would she have told him? That you ran a criminal enterprise? He didn’t seem too upset about that when he brought it up.”

“She has plenty of other dirt on me, too,” he said dismissively. “I don’t see that it matters, though – whatever she might have said, the results are the same. Maybe this whole thing was just to punish me for leaving her.”

“Maybe. Doesn’t mean you can’t still repair your relationship with your son, though.”

“No. But your positive outlook won’t magically make it possible, either,” he threw back at him.

Dean sighed. “You just have to keep trying. And speaking of Lilith having dirt on you, you don’t think…”

“No. She may want to punish me, but she loathes Lucifer. She’d never do anything that even stands a chance at helping him after what he did to her. Besides, we made a deal.”

He blinked at him in surprise. “When did you make a deal with her?”

“After you took Gavin back to the kitchen. I agreed to take the boy off her hands, so long as she kept her mouth shut.”

He nodded as understanding dawned on him. “I did wonder how she got you to cave. Kind of figured that she just turned and ran.”

“She has just a touch more class than that.”

“Yeah,” Dean scoffed. “If by ‘class’ you mean ability to blackmail.”

Crowley arched an eyebrow at him. “You do realize that you have to count yourself in that.”

He shrugged. “Not our life anymore,” he pointed out.

“No. But you were far better at it than Lilith ever was.”

He grinned. “Wasn’t she who taught you everything you know?”

“Everything _she_ knew,” he corrected. “I surpassed her a long time ago.”

“Of course you did,” he said with a roll of his eyes, then his gaze softened slightly. “You still think you made the right choice? Giving it all up?”

Crowley looked at him thoughtfully. “Are you happy?”

He thought about it for a second, then he nodded. “Yeah. I mean, you’re right, I was pretty awesome at what we did, but I think I’m better off with construction work.”

“Then yes, I made the right choice.”


	3. Making Amends

Dean was leaning up against the wall of the airport, texting Crowley, when his brother’s voice greeted him.

“Hey,” Sam said, a little breathless from pushing his way through the crowded hall while carrying his luggage. “Thanks for picking me up.”

Dean shrugged as he slid his phone back into his pocket. “Crowley’s off, so he was able to stay home with Gavin, so it wasn’t a big deal. Come on, let’s get your stuff to the car.”

As he helped Sam carry his stuff out to the Impala, he couldn’t help but remember the last time he had seen his brother – standing in Bobby’s living room, saying that if Crowley didn’t choose between his work at the prison and his criminal enterprise, he wouldn’t stop until he brought him down. It had all worked out okay, and Dean was slowly getting over it, but it was a lot easier to act like you weren’t angry with someone when you were over a thousand miles apart, when you didn’t have to be reminded of what they had done every time you looked at their face.

“So, you want me to drop you off at Bobby’s?” Dean asked as they got into the car.

Sam blinked at him, his already hesitant smile faltering. “For me to sit there, waiting till he gets home?”

He shrugged. “I’m sure you can entertain yourself. Look at porn, do whatever you do down at college.”

“Dean, I don’t get to come home very often,” he sighed. “I’d like to spend some time with you. And not just at Christmas.”

“Because that worked out so well last time you were in town.”

“So what, you won’t even hang out with me anymore?” he demanded.

“I didn’t say that.”

“So, what are you saying? I’ve missed you! I thought that after all this – now that everything’s out in the open – maybe I’d finally get my brother back.”

Dean ran a hand over his face. “I’d like that too, Sammy, but you still went behind my back to dig up dirt on my boyfriend and then threatened him with it.”

“I did it for you. You’re happier now, admit it!”

He shook his head. “That doesn’t matter. You-”

“No,” Sam interrupted sharply. “Dean, you have lived your entire life like your happiness doesn’t matter, but it _does._ It was bad enough seeing you put yourself last in every area of your life, I didn’t want to see you in a relationship where you’d be walked all over all because Crowley was too narrow-sighted to take your happiness into account – and if he doesn’t, then Heaven knows you won’t.”

“I don’t let him walk all over me!” he protested hotly.

“You wouldn’t even tell him you didn’t want to be a criminal, all because it was his life’s work! But I was wrong about him, okay? I admit that. He did put your happiness first, and I’m glad I was wrong. I’m glad you’re happy. I’m not going to interfere anymore, I promise.”

Dean peered at him out of the corner of his eye, trying to gauge if he was being honest. “So, what did you want to do?” he finally sighed. He supposed he could at least try to regain some sense of normalcy with him, since he clearly wanted it so much.

“We could go to your place,” he suggested.

“Crowley’s there,” he began hesitantly.

“And I think I owe him an apology,” Sam said, surprising him. “Besides, I’d like to meet Gavin.”

He thought it over for a minute before he nodded. “Yeah, alright.” He took the next left to head back towards home.

* * *

 

“Why am I not surprised by all this?” Sam muttered as they drove through the gate.

“Cause you’ve met Crowley and know he’s a show-off,” Dean suggested.

When they walked inside, they were immediately greeted by Juliet, Crowley’s spoiled pit bull, sizing up the new arrival with a low growl.

Dean rolled his eyes. “Sam, meet Juliet. Juliet, Sam.”

Sam crouched down slightly, holding his hand out to her. “Hey, girl.” After a moment’s hesitation, Juliet moved forward and allowed him to pet her. He looked up at his brother with a grin. “I thought you hated pit bulls?”

“Didn’t have a choice. And she grows on you.” He scratched Juliet behind the ear as he walked by her. “Crowley?” he called. “Gavin?”

“Dean?” Crowley answered as he rounded the corner. “I thought you were – oh.” He stopped when he saw Sam, irritation flickering over his face for just a moment before he forced a smile. “Always a pleasure to see you, Sam.”

Sam sighed as he straightened up and took a step forward. “Look, Crowley, I just want to say…” He took a deep breath as though it was a struggle to say the words, but he still sounded sincere when he said, “I’m sorry.”

He regarded him for a moment before he gave a short nod. “It’s in the past. Besides, you were only looking out for Dean, and I could never blame you for that.”

“I’m glad to hear you see it that way.”

His eyes narrowed just slightly. “I do love your brother, Sam.”

He nodded once, not quite looking at him. “Yeah, I got that.”

“Where’s Gavin?” Dean asked, interrupting the uncomfortable exchange.

“I’m here,” Gavin turned the corner, his eyes immediately darting to Sam.

“This is my little brother, Sam. Sam, this is Gavin.”

“Hey, Gavin,” Sam said with a smile. “I’ve heard a lot about you.”

Gavin nodded. “Same.”

“You guys eaten lunch yet?” Dean asked.

“I was just about to order food when you got here,” Crowley said. “But since you’re home…”

He rolled his eyes. “Yeah, I’ll cook.”

He smiled victoriously. “Excellent.”

“You know, one of these days, I’m going to end up on some long trip, and then you’re going to have to go back to your old way of getting food,” he said as he walked towards the kitchen. Crowley fell into step beside him, while Sam and Gavin followed behind.

“What? Ordering takeout and hiring personal chefs? The horror. Besides, you could never stay away from me that long.”

“I dunno… it might be a nice break,” he teased.

“Well, for me, certainly. I’ve forgotten what it was like to come home without obnoxiously loud rock music echoing through the house.”

“Hey now-”

“They’re always like this,” Gavin muttered to Sam.

When they reached the kitchen, Sam and Gavin took seats at the table, while Crowley wandered over to lean up beside the counter where Dean started working on preparing lunch.

“I didn’t know you were planning on bringing him here,” he said in a low voice, so as not to be heard over Sam asking Gavin about his interests.

“I wasn’t,” Dean muttered with a shrug. “But he gave a big speech about how he had just wanted me to be happy, he was glad he’d been wrong, and he’d never interfere in our relationship again. Kind of hard to say no after that. Besides, weren’t you the one who told me I couldn’t stay mad at him forever?”

“Well, you can’t. I’m not saying you shouldn’t have brought him here, I just would have liked some heads up.”

“Well, I’m sorry you didn’t have time to make the house even more pristine,” he teased.

“It’s not that,” he snapped. “I just would’ve liked to prep Gavin – make sure he’s on his best behavior.”

“What do you think he’s gonna do? He’s a good kid, Crowley. You two just but heads.”

“And that’s exactly what I’m worried about. Your brother already doesn’t think much of me. Seeing my son calling me a monster over dinner is only going to make it worse.”

Dean sighed. “I’m sure Gavin knows that’s not okay when there’s company over.”

“Yes, I’m sure Lilith gave him many lectures on it,” he muttered, sarcasm dripping from every syllable.

“Well, if you want to take Sam on a tour of the house, I can talk to him,” he offered with a knowing grin.

He grimaced. “I think I’d rather take my chances.”

Despite Crowley’s worries, lunch actually went rather well. Of course, the conversation between Crowley and Sam was forced and awkward, but they both made an attempt to be cordial, and Gavin didn’t lose his temper.

“So, I guess you both are coming over to Bobby’s for Christmas?” Sam asked Crowley.

Gavin looked at his father hopefully.

“Assuming I don’t have to work,” Crowley answered.

“Yeah, but you’re one of the people Lucifer actually likes, right?” he asked, just a note of judgement creeping into his tone. “Surely he’d let you off if you asked.”

“Ah, but why would I ask? I never have before. He’ll know something’s up, and I do _not_ need him snooping around my life.”

“You could have gotten together with Dean after he got out of prison,” he pointed out.

“You were in prison?” Gavin demanded, his gaze snapping to Dean in shock.

“It’s where I met your father,” Dean said before turning his attention to Sam. “It won’t matter to Lucifer when we got together – just the fact that we are together is bad enough.”

“Knowing him, he’d figure I was who provided the evidence that cleared Dean’s name,” Crowley added. “And he’d find some way to make it look like I fabricated it. Take me down and get Dean thrown back into prison – two birds, one stone.”

“There’s no way he could-” Sam started, but Crowley cut him off.

“Believe me, he could,” he said darkly. “There’s a reason I’ve never openly crossed him.”

“Well, you could always tell him you want to spend Christmas with your son,” he suggested, then he saw the conflicted look on Crowley’s face. “Assuming he knows you have a son….”

He sighed. “He knows I have one, he doesn’t know he’s living with me.” His concerned gaze flickered briefly to Gavin. “I can’t give him anything he can use against me.”

Gavin looked at his father in mild surprise – the look only lasted for a moment, but Dean caught it and knew exactly what he was thinking. Gavin would never have thought that he was someone Crowley cared enough about to be able to be used against him. Good. He needed to see that Crowley wasn’t as heartless as he assumed him to be.

Sam frowned slightly. “But you’re like his favorite guard, right? Why would he use anything against you?”

“You listen to Castiel too much. Things aren’t as cozy between his brother and me as he thinks.”

“Lucifer’s been acting weird lately,” Dean explained. “We think he might be suspicious of Crowley’s involvement in at least Alastair’s arrest, if not Azazel’s too.”

“Well, it’s a good thing your boss could never possibly find out that you’re hiding Gavin from him,” Sam said sarcastically. “Otherwise he’d really think he has a reason not to trust you.”

“I know,” Crowley muttered irritably. “I just need to be on a bit more solid ground before I tell him.”

“Yeah, how’s the sucking up going?” Dean asked.

“Well, I think. He doesn’t seem to be annoyed by it, at least.”

“You should do something to impress him,” Gavin suggested, and they all looked at him in surprise.

“What, like giving him a severed head?” Crowley suggested. “That might do the trick.”

“Maybe someone in the old organization would be willing to donate,” Dean said with a grin. “Most of them aren’t using theirs.”

He chuckled.

“You could always stick your neck out for him,” Sam suggested.

“That’s the last thing I’d ever do,” he protested. “If he’s going down, I’ll happily give him a push in that direction.”

“Which is why it’s the best way to prove you’re trustworthy,” he pointed out. “You’d never stick your neck out for him if you really were conspiring against him.”

“Of course I wouldn’t. Aside from the fact that I want nothing more than to see him taken down, the last person that stuck their neck out for him was Lilith. And that turned out wonderfully for her.”

He frowned slightly. “What happened?”

“Both her and our son ended up in slavery for ten years.”

 “Crowley’s right,” Dean cut in. “Even if the perfect situation did present itself, it’s too much of a risk. And if he did get taken down, that’d solve all our problems, anyway.”

“But what if it was staged?” Sam asked.

He leaned in curiously. “What’re you thinking?”

“Bobby’s close to the sheriff, maybe she could act like she was investigating him, and Crowley could intervene?”

He shook his head. “We can’t ask Sheriff Mills to risk her job like that. But… you might be onto something.” He looked at Crowley. “Maybe we could get someone to pretend to be an FBI agent.”

Sam shook his head. “There’s no way anyone would buy a fake FBI agent.”

“Oh, you’d be surprised,” Crowley said, taking a second to think it over. “Bella. She could pull it off, and would do it no questions asked for the right price.”

“Okay, so we just need to figure out what she’s going to accuse him of, then.”

He laughed. “That’s the easy part.” He turned to Sam, his eyes narrowing slightly. “One thing – why are you so eager to help me?”

“I’m not helping you,” Sam said matter-of-factly. “I’m helping Dean. And if you go down, he goes with you.”

He nodded. “I suppose that’s fair.”

He frowned. “You don’t think I’m trying to set you up, do you?”

“I always assume everyone’s going to betray me. It’s nothing personal.”

“Sounds like a miserable way to live.” He shook his head. “Look, I promise, I want to help for Dean’s sake, okay?”

“And I’m choosing to believe you. But only because if you care about your brother even half as much as he cares about you, I know that you would never risk anything happening to him.”

“So,” Dean said. “We actually doing this?”

Crowley thought it over for a moment before he nodded. “Yes, I believe we are.”


	4. Rehearsal

“Thanks again, Bella,” Dean said as he let his old business associate into the house. She was wearing a nice, black suit, already convincingly looking the part of an FBI agent.

She rolled her eyes. “You can thank me by paying me. I don’t cut deals for a pretty face, even one as nice to look at as yours.”

The corners of his lips quirked up and he huffed a small laugh as he handed her the envelope and allowed her to quickly count the contents.

“Looks like we’re in business.” She smiled up at him before turning to the man at his side. “And you must be little brother Sam, I take it? Pleasure.” She offered her hand and Sam shook it with narrowed eyes. She didn’t appear offended by his clear suspiciousness; on the contrary, she seemed pleased. “Shall we talk in the drawing room?” she asked as she dropped his hand. Without waiting for a confirmation, she strode past them both, walking down the hall and through the drawing room doors.

“I’m not sure about this, Dean,” Sam muttered.

“And I’m still not sure about you being here for this,” he shot back. “But it was your idea.”

“Calling _her_ wasn’t. Are you sure we can trust her? She used to work for Crowley.”

 _“I_ used to work for Crowley,” he reminded him. “And she’s one of the better ones. Sure, she’s dangerous, but we need dangerous right now.” He didn’t leave any further room for argument as he followed Bella into the drawing room, Sam right behind him.

“So, Dean, how long have you been sleeping with Crowley?” she asked with a smirk from where she reclined on the couch.

He sighed as he settled down in a chair. He really should have seen this coming. “A while,” he admitted.

She appeared unsurprised. “I mean, I suspected of course, but he was always so adamant about not sleeping with employees…”

“To be fair, we weren’t working together when we started sleeping together.”

“Hmm. I would accuse you of sleeping with him to get the job, but having seen you in action, I rather doubt that had been necessary.”

He fixed her with a steady gaze. “Bella, are you here to talk about my love life, or did you actually plan to tell me what you’re going to say to Lucifer?” he asked, a note of exasperation in his voice.

“Really, I was just here to get paid, but Crowley said I needed to run everything by you, so… what do you want to know?”

“Okay, well, when you get there, make sure to announce your presence. When you’re being escorted to Lucifer, make sure some guards overhear you – Balthazar would be ideal. The main thing is we need people gossiping about it, so it’s feasible that Crowley would know you’re there.”

“Easy enough. I’ve never had a problem getting men to talk about me,” she said with a smirk. “So, once I’m taken to Lucifer, I’ll announce that I’m from the FBI, show him my badge – exactly how much detail do you want here?”

Dean opened his mouth to reply, but Sam spoke first, “Who do you work under?”

Bella blinked at him in surprise. “Pardon?”

“Lucifer’s going to ask questions,” he continued bluntly. “And if you don’t have answers-”

“Mina Chandler. Would you like to see my badge number? I assure you, it checks out.”

Sam’s eyes narrowed. “How’d you pull that off?”

She smiled. “Now, why would I reveal my secrets? There’s so much more fun in mystery.”

“Anyway,” Dean regained control of the conversation. “Once you have him convinced, what do you plan to say?”

 “I’ll tell him I have some questions for him.”

“And if he refuses?” Sam cut in.

She sighed. “I’ll say something along the lines of, ‘You are well within your rights to do so, but I came here for answers, and I intend to get them. Now, Gabriel is who has worked here the longest – while he’s certainly worth questioning, I am concerned he’d just be trying to protect his big brother. So, I’ll skip him for now and move onto the next oldest employee. Could you tell me where I can find Crowley MacLeod?”

Dean grinned. “Guess that’ll show us if he trusts Crowley or not. And either way, Crowley still gets to look good. So, assuming he allows the questions?”

“I’ll start with simple questions as though to get a gauge for any tells he has, nothing that will give away why he’s being questioned. That should buy Crowley enough time to feasibly have heard the rumor and come to the rescue.”

“Good plan. So, let’s hear your real questions.”

“Could you tell me where you were on June 5, 2008?”

“He’ll say something like that was over ten years ago and he doesn’t remember.”

“So I’ll clarify, did you have any dealings with a crime ring known as the Styne Family?”

“He’ll want to keep up the current lie, so he’ll probably say that he never has, but he lost a friend when she got involved with them.”

“This friend being Lilith, I presume? Because interesting story, according to _her,_ you were the one trying to cut a deal with them, and when they got pissed off, you offered her up to them to keep them from taking their anger out on you.”

“He’ll deny it, of course.”

“And I’ll ask him what evidence he has to back up his claim.”

“Cue Crowley.”

Bella nodded. “Is that all, then? Crowley and I have already rehearsed our lines-”

“Well, he wants you to rehearse them again,” Dean interrupted. “He doesn’t want to risk anything going wrong.”

She sighed exasperatedly. “He’s such a control freak.”

“Tell me about it. Anyway, Crowley will come in – ‘Sorry to interrupt, but I couldn’t help but overhear…. I’m Crowley, Lilith’s former lover.’”

“And while I’m sure you can provide me with worthwhile information, I’m in the middle of questioning Lucifer, at the moment.”

“Pointlessly, might I add. Lilith just spent ten years in slavery to the Styne Family, of course she’s pissed. And being her, she wants to ruin someone else’s life to make hers seem a little more bearable. Lucifer had no idea she even had an interest in the Styne Family until I told him what had happened. Meanwhile, I was there throughout all of it. Lilith thought she could get money from them through blackmail – I warned her not to try, but she didn’t listen. She’s not the innocent victim she tries to make herself out to be.”

Bella raised her eyebrows. “And you knew about all of this while it was happening?”

“Of course. Like I said, we were involved.”

“So, you’re telling me that you knew of someone who had evidence on a criminal enterprise that we have been trying to take down for _years,_ and you sat by and did nothing?”

“I had a duty to Lilith.”

“You have duty to uphold the law. Your complacency is a crime in and of itself. So, I’m going to give you one more chance. Is this story you’re spinning _really_ the truth? Or are you just trying to cover for your boss? I promise, if it’s the latter, I’ll leave you out of this investigation from here on out – no charges will be brought against you. If it’s the former… well, I can’t make any such promise.”

“I don’t mean to be out of line, but it sounds to me like you’re trying to blackmail me to turn on Lucifer.”

“I’m just laying out the facts.”

“Hm, well… I’m gonna stick with the truth. Lilith’s a lying whore, end of story.”

“Well then, Mr. MacLeod, I’ll be sure to make note of your involvement in this ordeal.”

“You do that.” Dean smiled. “That was perfect, Bella.”

“Yes, I am actually good at my job.”

“Being a con-artist, you mean?” Sam muttered.

She smiled at him. “A girl’s gotta make a living. And considering that I’m helping you, I don’t think you should be complaining. Unless, of course, you’re still convinced that I can’t possibly pose as an FBI agent successfully?”

Dean looked over at his little brother with a raised eyebrow in time to see him sigh irritably and lean back in his chair. “I guess you’ll do fine.”

“That’s what I thought.” She rose to her feet, straightening out her suit-jacket. “Now, assuming you actually want me to do more than just rehearse this, I should be going. And don’t worry, Dean – once the job is done, no one will hear anything about it – or that you’re Crowley’s new boy toy.”

He rolled his eyes as he stood. “Thanks… I think.”

“Let Crowley know I’m on my way.”

He nodded. “I’ll walk you out.”

“So,” Bella began as soon as the were out of the drawing room and away from Sam. “You miss it?”

He didn’t have to ask what she was talking about. “Sometimes,” he admitted. “But I wouldn’t go back.”

“You always did have too much of a moral compass for the job.”

He chuckled. “Definitely not a problem you have.”

“If you’re trying to insult me, Dean, you’ll have to do better than that,” she purred as she stepped out the door, pivoting to face him.

“I’m not trying to insult you. Note, I’m asking for help from your moral-less self.”

She laughed. “Well, if you ever need help from someone who won’t let morals get in the way again, you have my number.”

He nodded. “See you, Bella.”

Once she was gone, Dean walked back into the drawing room, where Sam was attempting to get Juliet to come over to him.

“Good luck,” he commented as he collapsed onto the couch. “You don’t like Crowley, she doesn’t like you.” Juliet proceeded to jump up onto the couch, curling up beside him. He shrugged as he reached out to pet her.

“She’s perceptive,” Sam observed.

“Yeah, and you don’t exactly make it difficult for her.”

“Hey, I’m trying, okay?” he snapped defensively. “I’m helping here, aren’t I?”

“Yeah,” he sighed. “And I do appreciate it. But you don’t have to do it out of a sense of obligation, or to – to make amends, or whatever.”

“That’s not what this is. It’s like I said the other day, I don’t you to wind up back in jail, all because Crowley was the one that got you out. I figure if he’s in good standing with Lucifer, then that’s extra security for you. Besides…” He sighed. “Even if you wouldn’t get caught in the crossfire, I wouldn’t want you to have to go through Lucifer coming down on him.”

Dean looked at him in faint surprise. “You mean that?”

“Course. You’re my brother, and you love him…. I want you two to be able to be happy together, even if I don’t exactly like it.”

He smiled. “Thanks, Sammy.”

Sam returned the smile briefly before changing the subject. “So, you think this’ll work?”

“Yeah,” he said confidently. “If anyone can pull it off, Bella can.”

“I still say we should’ve told Cas what we’re doing. Maybe he could’ve helped.”

He shook his head. “Crowley and Cas actually working together on something? That’s never gonna happen. Cas would even complain whenever Crowley would save him from the chopping block in prison.”

“Well, he has good reason not to trust him,” he pointed out, then he hesitated slightly. “Have you even spoken to him since… everything?”

Dean glared at him. “I know how much you and Cas gossip behind my back, so I know you already know the answer to that. Why don’t you just say what you want to say?”

Sam sighed. “He thinks of you as one of his best friends, Dean. He took the rap for murder _for you,_ or did you forget that?”

“Of course not, but he kind of spat in the face of our friendship when he-”

“When he had a chance to take Crowley down – something he’s been wanting to do since he started at the prison – and he didn’t?” he challenged. “I know you’re pissed over how things went down, but he didn’t have to give him a choice like he did. Cleaning up that prison means the world to him, but he was willing to compromise for you.”

“I get that, but-”

“Dean?”

Dean turned around to see that Gavin had come downstairs and was standing in the doorway. “Hey, what’s up?” he asked, his voice immediately softening.

“I just… Bella’s gone to the prison now, hasn’t she? To… set everything up for Father?”

“Yeah, she has.” Gavin had clung to everything Dean, Sam, and Crowley had discussed over lunch earlier that week, not wanting to be out of the loop. Afterwards, Sam had asked Dean if he thought it was a good idea for Gavin to know so much about what they were doing, but both Dean and Crowley agreed that it would be worse to keep something as important as this from him. One way or another, the outcome would affect him, and he deserved to know what was going on.

“And…” Gavin took a deep breath, and Dean sat up straighter as he processed the worry on his face. “What happens if things go wrong?”

“They won’t,” he assured him.

His gaze turned challenging, and for a moment he was the spitting image of his father. “What if they do?” he repeated firmly.

Dean sighed, getting to his feet and walking around the couch to stand in front of him. “I know you’re worried about him-”

“No, I’m not,” he immediately protested. “I just want to know what happens to me when my father pisses off the wrong people, the same way my mother did.”

“We’ll make sure you’re taken care of.”

“But not by you, right? Because Sam said that if Father gets caught, it’ll end up hurting you. You’ll go back to prison, won’t you? It’s not fair that you should have to go to prison all because of something he did!”

He sighed. “Gavin,” he said gently, but firmly. “Do you know what Crowley is so scared of Lucifer finding out?” When he didn’t say anything, Dean continued. “That he saved me. He’s the one that got me out of prison in the first place. He threw in his lot with me, and if he goes down, I’ll be the reason why – not the other way around.”

Gavin was silent for a minute. “What did you go to prison for?” he finally asked softly.

“For protecting someone I love.” His eyes slid to his brother briefly before he turned back to Gavin, placing his hand on his shoulder. “The same way I’ll protect you, not matter what happens after today.”

He looked up at him, his gaze difficult to decipher, and then he nodded. “Thanks… Dad.”


	5. Celebration

By the time Crowley got home, Sam had gone back to Bobby’s, and Dean was in the kitchen finishing up dinner. Both he and Gavin – who was sitting at the table, flipping through a book Sam had brought him – visibly perked up at the sound of the door opening. Whatever Gavin might have said about not actually being worried about Crowley himself, there was something in the set of his shoulders, the lines of his face, that said otherwise. Despite their strained relationship, Gavin didn’t want to lose his father.

“How’d it go?” Dean asked anxiously as soon as Crowley rounded the corner into the kitchen.

“He bought it,” Crowley announced as he walked over to the alcohol cabinet and poured himself a drink. He seemed tired, but also relieved, like he could finally allow himself to rest. “And he did seem surprised when I came to his defense, so… I think we were right to be worried.”

“Yeah, but not anymore, right?”

“The best I can tell, no,” he sighed as he walked over to the table and sat down across from his son. “He was as grateful as he ever is – which is not very, by the way.”

“But it worked,” Gavin piped up.

Crowley gave him a small smile. “It worked.”

“Well, I think this is cause for celebration,” Dean said as he dished up dinner.

“Oh?” he asked with interest.

“You and Gabriel still giving each other the cold shoulder, or are you two friends again?” He knew that things had been tense between Crowley and his best friend (using the term loosely) since Gabriel had shown up on their doorstep with his nephew – the son of Lucifer, himself. Crowley had obviously been furious that the son of the man he was in the midst of betraying was on his front porch, and he had proceeded to all but threaten the kid to his face, prompting Gabriel to go on the defensive. Thankfully, nothing seemed to have come of it, aside from the fact that the two friends had stubbornly avoided each other for the next few weeks.

Crowley shrugged. “Considering he’s the only tolerable person I work with…”

Yep, sounded like their friendship was back to normal. “Excellent. Call him up. I’ll call Benny and Sam, and we can all go out for drinks tomorrow.”

“Well, that should be entertaining.”

“What about me?” Gavin asked.

“Well, my Uncle Bobby’s been bugging me to get some quality time with you,” Dean said. “I figure you can go over to his house for the night. He’s great, you’ll love him.” He walked over to the table, setting a plate down in front of him and one in front of Crowley. “Sam and I spent so much time over at Bobby’s growing up – watching old horror flicks, listening to his stories… some of my best memories are at that house.” And lately, some of his worst, but he wasn’t going to get into that.

He grinned. “Can’t wait.”

“You sure that Bobby will be on board with you volunteering him for an entire night?” Crowley asked.

Dean nodded as he got his own plate and glass and joined the others at the table. “I’m sure of it.”

“Alright, then. Looks like we have some calls to make.”

“After dinner, of course,” he said with a wink.

Just as Dean had figured, Bobby was more than happy to watch Gavin for the night. Even better, Sam, Gabriel, and Benny were all up for going out, and Sam didn’t even sound reluctant after learning that Dean’s old cell mate would be joining them. It would be good to get out and be able to enjoy themselves, especially after how crazy their lives had been as of late. He said as much to Crowley as they were getting ready for bed that night.

“To what craziness are you referring?” Crowley asked as he laid down in bed. “Business? Lucifer? Your family? Gavin?”

Dean chuckled as he walked over to sit on the edge of the bed, staring at the closet door without really seeing it. “He called me dad,” he said after a minute.

There was a pause. “Should I offer congratulations or condolences?”

He shook his head as he twisted around, turning to face him. “I just… when we took him in, I made the decision to be a father to him, but… there’s just something different about hearing it from him. Makes it more real, I guess.”

“Is it too much?” he asked softly, his expression worried.

He pursed his lips slightly and shook his head. “No. I’m glad to… be his dad. I just don’t want to screw it up.”

“Well, as I’m sure Gavin would be quick to point out, you’re not the father most likely to screw up here.”

“I don’t know. I feel like I screw up an awful lot,” he muttered.

Crowley studied him for a moment. “Come here,” he said firmly.

Dean laid down and allowed Crowley to pull him to his side and into a heated kiss.

“Now, are you going to stop putting yourself down?” he asked lowly when eventually he pulled away. “Or am I going to have to make you?”

A small smile turned up the corners of his lips. “I think you’re gonna have to make me.”

“How disappointing.” He leaned over him, a wicked glint in his eyes, and Dean knew he wasn’t disappointed in the slightest.

* * *

 

Dean and Crowley picked up Sam when they dropped Gavin off at Bobby’s. Of course Dean was a little worried about leaving him for the night, but the kid seemed really excited to meet more family and have some normal childhood experiences. Remembering the smile on Gavin’s face helped to put his mind at ease as they pulled up to the bar.

They were the first ones there, so they went ahead and got a booth. They had just placed their drink order when Benny showed up.

“Hey, there’s the proud uncle!” Dean greeted him with a teasing grin. “I want to see pictures of this niece. How old is she? She hot?”

Benny’s eyes narrowed at him as he took a seat in the chair they had pulled up at the head of the table. Before he could say anything, though, Crowley said pointedly, “And where did you want to sleep tonight?”

“What?” he asked innocently, leaning into his side. “For Sammy, of course!” He winked at his brother across the table.

“She is very beautiful,” Benny said, “And I will not hesitate to rip the throat out of any guy who makes a move on her.”

“Pretty sure that’s in violation of you’re parole,” Gabriel said as he approached the table. “But hey, I’m not ratting anyone out. It’s Benny Lafitte, right?”

“That’s me.”

“Good to see you outside of prison. Hey Dean-o, it’s been a while. Been staying out of trouble?”

“You know me,” Dean said with a grin.

“Yeah, and you and Crowley combined… that just spells trouble.” His gaze slid to the man in the booth closest to him. “And you must be Sam. I’ve heard a lot about you.” He leaned in slightly at stage-whispered. “And I mean _a lot.”_ He straightened up, a large smile on his face as he turned away slightly, drawing attention to a figure approaching behind him. “But hey, I think you know my brother.”

“Gabriel,” Crowley sighed irritably as Castiel stepped up to the table.

“What?” he asked innocently. “Go on, have a seat, Cassie.” He maneuvered him around, nearly pushing him into the booth next to Sam.

Castiel turned to glare at his brother before looking across the table at Dean. “I apologize. I know you don’t want me here, but Gabriel wouldn’t listen.”

Dean looked from Castiel’s slightly pink face to his Sam’s – also pink, but with a small, delighted smile, as well – and shrugged. “Nah, you’re good, Cas,” he sighed. “It’s good to see you.”

He smiled. “You too, Dean.”

“I’m glad you came,” Sam said softly.

Castiel turned his smile on him. “Me too.”

Benny turned to Gabriel. “You want to pull up a chair?”

“What’re you talking about? There’s plenty of room.” Gabriel proceeded to slide into the booth beside Castiel, shoving him closer to Sam in the process. Dean suppressed a smirk.

“I do hope you haven’t brought any other family members along,” Crowley said.

Gabriel opened his mouth, but before he could get out whatever smart-ass reply he had in mind, the waitress returned with their drinks and took the new arrivals’ orders.

“Speaking of my less savory brother,” Gabriel said as she walked away. “Apparently, Lucifer is being investigated by the FBI.”

Dean grinned as Crowley said casually. “That so?”

Castiel’s eyes narrowed slightly.

“Hm,” Gabriel hummed in assent. “He was telling me about it today. Thinks he dodged the worst of it, but he actually seemed kind of worried.”

“Well, here’s hoping they find something,” Dean tipped his beer towards him in a mock-toast.

“I somehow doubt it,” Castiel commented.

“Way to think positive, Cassie,” Crowley said. “And aren’t you supposed to be number one in wanting Lucifer out of the prison? Or is it just me you’re after?”

“Of course I would like nothing more than for Lucifer to lose his position, but I find that unlikely to happen due to an FBI investigation that you have fabricated.”

Dean turned to glare at his brother.

“I didn’t tell him!” Sam held up his hands defensively.

Castiel frowned, looking between the two of them, as Benny asked, “What have you gone and done now?”

Dean sighed. “We needed to make sure Lucifer still trusted Crowley – that he wasn’t going to start investigating him. So, we called in a favor. Made him think the FBI was investigating him, and then Crowley came to the rescue.”

“Yeah, kinda figured it was something like that,” Gabriel admitted. “Couldn’t be that lucky.”

“Well, maybe we could be if you-”

“I would no sooner turn on Lucifer than I would Castiel,” he said firmly. “He’s my brother.”

“Yeah, but-” he started to argue.

Crowley placed his hand on his thigh, squeezing gently. “Trust me, it’s useless.”

Castiel nodded. “For once, I agree with Crowley. I have been trying to get him to see things differently for years.”

The waitress reappeared at that moment, dissolving the tension that had formed at the table. The conversation turned more relaxed, and the smiles grew less forced.

“So, tell me, Gabriel,” Crowley said once they had stepped away from the table to engage Benny and Gabriel in a some two-vs-two foosball. “What made you think it would be a good idea to bring Castiel along?”

Gabriel rolled his eyes and glanced back toward the booth where Sam and Castiel still sat, talking together.

“Hey, eyes on the table!” Benny nudged him.

“When I heard Sammy would be here, I just couldn’t resist,” Gabriel said as he hit the ball down the table. “You get it, don’t you, Dean?” he asked, grinning up at him.

Dean sighed. “I do, but…” He hit the ball back his way, scoring a goal. “Things with Cas have been a little tense lately. I mean, the last time I saw him, he was-”

He held his hands up in surrender. “Hey, I don’t wanna know. I’m assuming this has something to do with Crowley’s extracurricular activities, and I stay out of those.”

“Nothing to stay out of,” Crowley muttered as he launched the ball back onto the table.

Gabriel raised an eyebrow at him. “Come on, Crowls. You don’t expect me to buy that.”

“It’s the truth,” Dean said, leaning over the table as he attempted to get the ball back from Benny.

He whistled. “Tensions really are high, aren’t they?”

He sighed, straightening up as Benny scored the goal. “Yeah. I haven’t even talked to him since everything went down.”

“So, that’s why he’s so bummed. He doesn’t have many friends, you know – you and your brother are about it.”

“So, you’re trying to guilt me into talking to him? You’re as bad as Sam.”

He shrugged. “If our situations were reversed – if Sam was the one hurting – wouldn’t you be doing the same thing?”

He glared at him, not wanting to admit that he was right. “Can we just finish this game, already? Or are we just going to stand here talking?”

“You’re the ones doing the talking,” Benny pointed out as he lined the ball up. “And I don’t want you two using that as an excuse when you lose. We’re beatin’ you fair and square.”

Dean grinned. “We’ll see about that.”

It was a close game, but Dean and Crowley ended up winning.

“I blame it on the fact that we’re not sleeping together,” Gabriel said. “That clearly gives them the edge.”

Dean laughed, but his smile faded away slightly as he saw Castiel and Sam getting out of the booth and making their way over to them.

“Rematch?” Benny asked.

 “Who won?” Castiel asked at the same time.

“We did, of course,” Dean said proudly, pulling Crowley into a kiss, which was happily returned.

Crowley paused for a moment when he pulled back, and he must have seen something in his eyes because he gave him a small, understanding smile, then turned to Sam. “Samantha. You want to join me for the next game?”

Sam blinked in surprise, his eyes darting between Dean and Crowley uncertainly. “Um… what?”

He sighed. “Gabriel here thinks Dean and mine’s sexual chemistry is tipping the scale in our favor. I’d like to prove to him that I can beat him just as easily with someone I’m not as… compatible with.”

He looked at Dean, who shrugged and stepped back from the table. “It’s all yours.”

Sam still appeared confused, but he gave Castiel a half-shrug then walked over to take Dean’s spot at the table.

As Crowley was lining up the ball, Dean walked over to Castiel. “Hey… can we talk?”

Castiel turned to him in surprise, and he saw Sam glance up at him with understanding dawning on his features. “Of course.”

They walked back over to the table and reclaimed their seats across from each other.

“So… everyone seems to think we need to talk about what happened,” Dean started, not really sure how to begin.

Castiel nodded. “I agree. But I feel I should tell you that I’m not going to apologize for what I did. The only reason I’ve fought so hard to stay at the prison is to make it better – more like it used to be when my father was warden. So when I had the chance to clear out some of the corruption, I had to act on it. And I’m not sorry for that.”

He sighed. He had expected as much, and that was why he hadn’t tried talking to him sooner. “I get that, but Crowley’s not the devil incarnate. Of all the guards there, he’s actually one of the better ones.”

“You’re telling me that you saw nothing wrong with him using the prison as a selection-ground for his new recruits and a hive of information to blackmail whoever he could get his hands on?” he demanded skeptically.

“Of course I did! I’m just saying, in the scheme of things, that wasn’t your biggest worry in that prison.”

“I am well aware. But a dear friend once said to me that I needed to think small. If I raised too much noise, I’d get fired and would no longer be able to do any good. So, I decided that it is best that I focus on the smaller, more subtle worries than the bigger ones.”

Dean sighed as Castiel used his own advice against him. He was right, of course, but it didn’t have any bearing on the real reason Dean was so upset with his friend. “But… did it ever cross your mind that I love Crowley and that hurting him hurts me?” he asked, a note of pain entering his voice.

Castiel’s expression softened. “Of course it did. Sam and I had a very long discussion about it, and he believed that forcing Crowley to make that choice could be good for you in the long run. You are a good person, Dean – you can’t have truly enjoyed being a criminal. Aren’t you at least a little happy with the way things turned out?”

“That’s not the point. You still betrayed me.”

“As you did me when you learned of what Crowley was doing and kept it from me.”

He didn’t have a response to that. He supposed that he did have a point – as his friend, he had kind of owed it to Castiel to be honest about corruption in the prison that he was trying so hard to cleanse.

“But I don’t blame you for it,” Castiel continued. “You did what you had to do for the man you love, just as I did what I had to do for something I care about. It is not so different, when you think about it.”

He looked out over the bar, feeling the weight of Castiel’s words bear down on him. “No,” he sighed. “I guess it’s not.”


	6. Family Matters

“So, what are the odds that Bobby has managed to turn Gavin even more against me?” Crowley muttered as they walked up the front steps to Bobby’s house the next day.

Dean shot him a glare. “He wouldn’t do that.”

“Who wouldn’t do what?” Sam asked, catching up to them after having grabbed his bag out of the back of the car.

His brother had only shown slight hesitancy at the prospect of staying the night at Crowley’s house, but even he had to admit that after a night of drinking, it just made the most since. Especially since they had to pick up Gavin from Bobby’s today, anyway.

“You wouldn’t stop being a pain in my ass for five minutes.” He threw him a grin over his shoulder as he opened the front door and walked into the house, the others following behind him. “Bobby? Gavin?” he called out.

“Hi, Dad!” Gavin exclaimed as he came out of the study. “Father. Sam.”

“Hey, kid,” Dean grinned as he pulled him into a hug. “Have fun?”

“Yeah, it was great.”

“So, you managed alright?” Crowley asked as Bobby rounded the corner into the entryway.

“Course,” Bobby nodded. “That’s a good kid you’ve got there.”

“Thanks again for watching him for the night,” Dean said.

“Now, hang on a minute. I hope you two don’t think you’re going to just run off like I’m any old babysitter.”

“Course not, Bobby,” he muttered, looking down in mild embarrassment. Bobby was some of the only family he had left, and one of the people in the world he was closest to – he could stand to visit with him for more than just holidays. Everything was out in the open now, he didn’t have to keep avoiding him.

“Good. I have some sandwich stuff if you boys are hungry.”

“Sounds great.”

Crowley sighed as Bobby turned and walked into the kitchen, and Dean responded by elbowing him in the ribs.

“What?” he demanded indignantly.

Sam rolled his eyes. “If you want to be part of this family, you’re gonna have to get used to this kind of thing. And before you say you don’t want to be part of our family,” he plowed on as Crowley opened his mouth to protest. “You want Dean, and this is just part of the package.”

Dean shrugged with a small smile. “He’s right.”

“You know, they are a great family, Father,” Gavin added, clearly unhappy and probably holding himself back from insulting Crowley in front of Sam. But hey, at least he was holding himself back. It was progress.

“I know they are,” Crowley sighed. He looked back up at Sam. “Family just isn’t something I’m used to.”

“Well, get used to it,” Dean said, squeezing his shoulder. “Now, c’mon. Before Bobby gets even more surly.”

It wasn’t what Dean had wanted to say, but standing there with Sam and Gavin, and with Bobby waiting in the kitchen, he hadn’t had much of a choice. Later that night, though, once Gavin was in his room and the two of them were alone in the living room, he decided to risk it.

He took a deep breath, unsure of why exactly he was so nervous. Aside from the fact that this line of questioning had never gotten him anywhere before, of course. “So, what’s your deal about family, anyway?”

Crowley looked up from his book, frowning. “What do you mean?”

“I mean… why are you so weird about it?”

He arched an eyebrow as he slid his bookmark into his book and set it gingerly down on the table beside him. “My experiences with family weren’t as… wholesome as yours,” he said reluctantly.

“I’m not sure wholesome’s the word I’d use,” he muttered. “So, what were yours like?” he asked casually.

He eyed him thoughtfully for a minute, definite hesitancy in his eyes. “Not good,” he said finally.

“Oh, thanks. That’s real descriptive.”

“How descriptive do you want me to get?” he demanded. “It was hell, Dean. Literal hell. And I have no desire to relive it.”

“I’m not asking you to relive it. I’m just asking you to give me _something,”_ he said beseechingly.

Crowley’s frown deepened. “Why? Why is it suddenly so important that I recount my worst memories to you?”

“Because you know all of mine!” Dean burst. “Hell, you taught me things about my family that I never would’ve even imagined. You might know my past better than I do, and yet I know nothing about yours!”

He sighed, his expression softening slightly. “You _do_ know my past, Dean. I’ve told you. My mother abandoned me, then I met Lilith and she taught me how to take care of myself. That’s all there is to it.”

He shook his head. “I don’t believe that.”

His eyebrows shot up. “You think I’m lying to you?” he asked incredulously.

“No – no!” he hastened to correct himself. “It’s just… that can’t be all there is to it. Who was your mother? What was she like? What happened after… before Lilith?”

“It doesn’t matter,” Crowley said coolly. “I was a different person back then. Almost literally.”

“It still shaped who you are, though,” he protested. “I still want to know that person!”

“Well, maybe I don’t want you to know him,” he snapped. “You ever think of that?”

“Why not? I’m not asking for much – I just want to understand what you’ve been through, to not feel like your ex knows more about you than I do.”

“Lilith doesn’t know me,” he said firmly. “She thought she did, and it cost her.”

Dean ignored him. “What are you so worried about me knowing?” he ground out.

“It’s not about hiding anything from you-”

“So, tell me!”

“No.” His voice was final as he rose to his feet. “Now, I’m going to bed. Do you care to put this matter aside and join me?”

He glared up at him. “If you’re just going to walk away from this, I think I’ll stay right here.”

Crowley clenched his jaw, but he nodded. “Fine.” And with that, he turned and walked from the room.

* * *

 

Dean and Crowley didn’t acknowledge their fight the next morning. That being said, they didn’t say much of anything to each other at all before Crowley left for work. A small part of Dean wished that he had just left well enough alone, but for the most part, he was furious. Before he could believe that Crowley’s avoidance of his past hadn’t been deliberate, but now…. Maybe a guy who had built his life on secrets and lies didn’t know how to do anything else.

“Alright, what’s up, Dean?” Sam demanded about an hour after he’d arrived. Dean had considered saying no when his brother had texted him, asking to come over, but he knew that Sam would only be in town for so long, and he didn’t want it to look like he was pushing him away – again. He knew how shitty that felt.

“What d’you mean?” he asked, playing dumb as he brought his beer to his lips.

Sam rolled his eyes. “Since I’ve gotten here, you’ve hardly said two words, and you’ve been drinking pretty much non-stop. Something’s up.”

He shrugged. “Just one of those days, ya know?”

He frowned at him, his brow furrowing. “If you’re worried about Crowley, I’m sure everything’s fine. He seemed pretty convinced that Lucifer bought it, and he strikes me as the naturally skeptical sort.”

Dean sighed. “It’s not that.”

“So, what is it?”

“Just…” He could ask him, it would be so easy. Sam had looked into Crowley’s past, had surely discovered more than Crowley had ever told Dean about. Sure, he wouldn’t have all the answers, but it was a start. And if Dean started questioning Crowley with actual _facts_ to back up his questions, he wouldn’t be able to keep avoiding the matter. Or he’d feel betrayed. There was that option, too. He ran a hand over his face.  “It’s nothing. Crowley and I had a fight, no big deal.”

“Oh,” Sam muttered, obviously unsure what to say.

“We’ll get through it,” he said, trying to inject some confidence into his voice. It was hard to think positively about his boyfriend deliberately hiding his past from him, though.

He nodded. “I know you will.”

Dean blinked at him in surprise. He knew his brother, and that wasn’t just him being nice – he meant it. “You do?”

“Yeah.” He sighed. “Despite how I feel about Crowley… I see the two of you together, and I know how he feels about you. There’s nothing he wouldn’t do for you.”

He snorted. “Apparently not nothing,” he muttered as he took another drink.

Sam frowned. “What do you mean?”

He shook his head. He didn’t need to get into all of this with Sam. “He’s just… being Crowley.”

“Sounds annoying,” he said with a grin, clearly trying to lighten the mood.

He rolled his eyes. “You don’t even know.”

* * *

 

Dean didn’t think it was a coincidence that Crowley worked late that night. He had taken Sam back to Bobby’s before dinner so that he’d be able to talk to Crowley when he got home, but it ended up being just him and Gavin at the table.

“Where’s Father?” Gavin asked after they had dished up.

“Work,” Dean said shortly, trying not to think too much about the fact that Crowley was avoiding him.

“But normally when he goes in in the morning, he’s home by dinner.”

“Yeah, but sometimes things happen and he has to work late.”

He paused to consider this as he ate his food. “Could something have happened?” he eventually asked. “With his boss?”

Dean looked at him in surprise, silently cursing himself for not wondering if there might be a bigger issue at play here. It wasn’t necessarily the case – in fact, it probably wasn’t – but he should have at least considered it. Still, he couldn’t worry about it now. He had to focus on easing Gavin’s concerns. “Hey.” He reached across the table and squeezed his arm. “Sometimes people – your father included – just have to work late. It doesn’t mean anything.”

Gavin nodded. “Alright,” he muttered, returning to his food.

It was past eight by the time Crowley did eventually get home. Dean was seated in a chair in the living room, angled so that he’d be able to see him as soon as he took a few steps inside the front door.

“A twelve-hour shift is pretty long, even for you,” Dean said by way of greeting.

Crowley sighed as he hung up his coat and moved to stand in the doorway to the living room. “Time got away from me.”

“Yeah, I’m sure that’s all it was. You should go check in on Gavin, he was worried.”

He raised his eyebrows. “Worried? About me?”

He shrugged. “Thought you might be late because Lucifer had caught onto you.” He paused, frowning slightly. “That wasn’t what it was, was it?”

“Course not.”

He nodded curtly. So, he had been right about him just avoiding him, then. “So, why were you late, then? Or is that another secret?”

“They’re not secrets, Dean!” he said exasperatedly.

“Really? Because you’re refusing to tell me, and I’m pretty sure that’s the very definition of a secret.”

“It’s not as simple as that,” he protested.

“So, enlighten me!” he shouted, rising to his feet. “What makes your past so damn complicated? Because I feel like _every other_ person knows you better than I do!”

He sighed, walking forward until he stood directly in front of Dean. “All they know is my past,” he said softly. _“You_ know who I am now. Isn’t that what matters?”

“I wish it was enough,” Dean said honestly, the fight draining out of him. “But… after everything I went through with my family, I need some freakin’ honesty in my life, man.”

He shook his head, looking down. “You don’t know what you’re asking for.”

“What are you so worried about? I’m not going to see you any differently. I promise.”

He scoffed as he looked up at him. “What have I always told you about making promises you can’t keep?”

He frowned. “I will-”

“I love you, Dean,” Crowley cut him off. “And I refuse to burden you with my past. It’s for your own good, really – no sense tearing yourself up trying to keep that promise.”

“Crowley, I know you aren’t exactly a saint,” he pointed out. “I’ve seen some of the things you’ve done. It’s not like it’s gonna shock me.”

“You haven’t seen everything. So just… let the past stay where it is, okay?”

He sighed. “I don’t know if I can do that.”

“So try. For me. Please.”

Dean looked away, not sure what to do. All Crowley had done was open up more questions about his past, how was he supposed to just let that go? But how couldn’t he, for the man he loved?

“I was late because I was talking to Lucifer,” Crowley said after several minutes of silence.

He turned back to him in mild surprise. “And here I thought you were just avoiding me.”

“That too,” he admitted. “I told him about Gavin, which prompted a whole slew of questions from him.”

“What’d he ask?” he demanded, suddenly concerned.

“When Lilith showed up, if she said what she was up to – mostly trying to get information on her, since for all he knows, she’s using the FBI to try to bring him down. But then it got weird. He started asking about Gavin, pretending to care, and… said that I ever needed advice raising the kid, I could go to him.” He shuddered. “Then he suggested that we should get Gavin and Jack together sometime – he thinks they’d be great friends.”

“Just like Lilith wanted,” he observed grimly. “How’re we gonna get out of that?”

“Shouldn’t be too hard – ‘Gavin’s still adjusting, isn’t ready for outings with strangers yet.’ And then, ‘Oh, he’s struggling in school and can’t go out any night this week. So sorry.’” He shrugged, clearly more uncomfortable about the situation than he was worried. “On the bright side, I got off for Christmas. Assuming you still want me there.”

Dean reached out, sliding his hand down his arm to grab his hand and making his decision as he did so. “I do. Of course I do, but I’m still not okay with this. I get where you’re coming from, but that doesn’t make it okay. But…” He sighed. “Tomorrow’s Christmas Eve, this is Gavin’s first real Christmas, and then he’s starting school, and… we can come back to this after the holidays, okay?”

“I’m not magically going to want to tell you my life story because of some Christmas cheer, you know.”

He nodded. “I know. But we need to figure _something_ out because I’m not okay with the secrets.” He held up his hands placatingly. “After the holidays.”

Reluctantly, Crowley nodded. “After the holidays.”


	7. First Day

The Winchester-Singer-MacLeod Christmas was pure chaos in all the best ways. They went over to Bobby’s first thing in the morning to partake in food, drink, presents, and all those great Christmas festivities that had Gavin practically bouncing in excitement. Personally, Dean thought that the greatest accomplishment of the day was that his family managed twelve hours cooped up together without a single fight breaking out – not even between Crowley and Gavin. Admittedly, this Christmas looked to be the best day of Gavin’s life, so he wasn’t in his normal, argumentative mood.

“So, you’ve officially survived Christmas with my family,” Dean commented after they finally got Gavin to settle down enough to go to bed.

“Surprisingly,” Crowley murmured as he took a drink of his scotch.

He rolled his eyes. “Oh, come on, it wasn’t that painful, was it?”

He was silent for a minute before he said quietly, “Actually, it was rather nice.”

Dean smiled. “See? Family isn’t so bad.”

“Mmm,” he hummed around his glass, neither agreeing nor disagreeing.

Again, Dean wondered what his family experiences had been like growing up. Had he ever celebrated Christmas with his mother? What had it been like? He shoved the questions aside. _After the holidays,_ he reminded himself.

But after the holidays came with its own set of problems.

Dean’s first day at Pure Renovation Company mostly consisted of training, but he was pretty sure that the job would be a good fit for him. He still couldn’t get over the fact that the prestigious construction company had decided to just overlook the fact that he had just gotten out of prison for murder, but he certainly wasn’t going to stir up anything by asking about it.

Crowley’s schedule had worked out to pick Gavin up from his first day of school, so they were both already home by the time Dean got off work. Most of the day he’d stayed focused on learning his new job, but as he drove home, he started worrying about how Gavin’s first day had gone. The kid had been so nervous about starting school, he just really hoped that it had gone well.

He looked around when he walked into the house, but there was no sign of Gavin. Only Crowley stood in the entryway, his expression filling Dean with unease.

“Where’s Gavin?” he asked worriedly.

“In his room,” Crowley said, his voice hard. “Avoiding me.”

“Wait so… did you guys just have a fight, or did he have a bad time at school?”

“Oh no, he had a _great_ time,” he said darkly. “He made a new friend and everything.”

Dean frowned. “Well, that’s good….”

“It’s Jack. Lucifer’s boy.”

His stomach dropped and it took a couple seconds before he could wrap his head around what Crowley had said enough to respond. “I didn’t realize they were going to the same school.” It certainly wasn’t the most important point he could be making, but it was all he could manage.

“Nor did I, otherwise I would have avoided it.” He sighed, sinking down onto the chair behind him. “Naturally, I forbade Gavin from associating with him, and now he’s furious with me.”

He could imagine. Poor Gavin. He had been so terrified that he would be too different, that he wouldn’t be able to make friends, but he had made one, only to be told he wasn’t allowed to be friends with him. But Crowley was right, of course. It was too dangerous. And besides, he didn’t want his son hanging around with a kid like Jack, regardless.

“Did you explain why?” Dean asked, walking over to stand beside him.

“He wouldn’t listen to me.”

He nodded. He had figured as much. “I’ll give it a shot.”

“Thank you.”

Dean knocked once on Gavin’s door before pushing it open. “Hey,” he said gently. “How’re you doing?”

Gavin was sat on the corner of his bed, his hands wrapped around his knees as he glared at the wall. “Depends. Do you believe that Father has officially proven that he isn’t cut out to raise me and you deserve better, so you’re going to take me away now?”

He sighed as he shut the door behind him and walked over to sit down beside his son. “No.”

“Then terrible,” he said, shifting to turn away from him slightly.

“Gavin… how much do you know about Jack?”

“I know that he’s the only person who was actually nice to me,” he grumbled into his knees. “He’s kind of an outcast too, so we… got along.”

“Did he talk about his family at all?” he asked softly.

Gavin shook his head.

“Okay, well his father is Lucifer – your father’s boss.”

At that, he looked at him, his head snapping up in surprise. “So, wait – because my father hates his father, we can’t be friends? And you agree with that?” he demanded indignantly.

“It’s not like that,” he sighed. “Look, Lucifer is a _terrible_ person – the worst. And his son… well, he’s going to follow in his father’s footsteps, and you don’t need to be around that.”

His eyes narrowed. “So, because his father is evil, he must be too? Gee, thanks.”

“Gavin,” Dean said sternly. “I know you have some issues with Crowley, but he’s no where near as bad as Lucifer.”

“How would you know?” he threw back at him. “He hasn’t told you anything! You think I don’t know that? You think I haven’t heard you two fighting?”

He looked down, taking a deep breath. “You know what?” he asked, looking up. “That’s not even relevant right now. Lucifer is raising his son to be just like him – which, by the way, includes being great at convincing people he’s some great guy that they should be friends with. That nice kid you met was all just a show. Hell, Lucifer probably told him to work his magic on you so that he’d have another way to keep tabs on Crowley. You can’t fall for that.”

Gavin shot to his feet. “Right. Because he couldn’t possibly want to be friends with me for any other reason than to get to my father.”

“Gavin, that’s not what I was saying,” Dean quickly backtracked.

“It’s exactly what you were saying! And stop treating me like some sheltered kid that doesn’t know what’s really out there! I’ve seen it! I’ve seen people being manipulative, getting close to someone just to get something from them – my mom did it every damn day, and that’s not what Jack was doing! I’ve been surrounded by bad people all my life, but just like I can tell you’re different, I know that Jack is, too!”

“Gavin, I know you’ve seen a lot,” he said gently. “Far more than anyone your age should have to see. But I’m telling you, Lucifer is a whole other level of bad. And so is Jack.”

He shook his head. “You don’t know that.”

“Yeah, yeah I do. Lucifer specifically wanted a kid to have someone to carry on his legacy. There’s no way he’s any different from him.”

“You’re wrong.” He met Dean’s gaze levelly, daring him to continue challenging him. And Dean knew enough about MacLeod men to know it was useless.

He sighed. “Even if I am, the fact remains that if Lucifer finds out that Crowley and I are together, it _will_ be bad for all of us. And if you get close to Jack-”

“I won’t say anything to him,” he said quickly, desperation in his voice. “I promise.”

“It’s still too risky. He could find out somehow, let it slip.”

“He _won’t-”_

“I know you want to believe that, but there’s just no telling what could happen. We can’t afford to take that risk. I’m sorry.”

Devastation was etched into every line of Gavin’s face, and it broke Dean’s heart, but there was nothing he could do about it. “So, what? I’m just expected to ignore him every time he tries to talk to me?”

“We’ll have you transferred to another class, so it’ll be easier.” He hadn’t discussed it with Crowley yet, but he knew he’d agree.

“Easier? Easier would be getting to keep the one friend I made!”

“You’ll make other friends,” he assured him.

“What if I don’t?” Gavin pressed.

Dean shook his head, wishing more than anything that there was a way to take his son’s doubt away. “You will. I-I know you will, okay?”

“No, you don’t. And you know what? I don’t even care. I don’t _want_ another friend. I like Jack. And he doesn’t have friends either, so if I abandon him, that’s not fair to him!”

Dean found it difficult to be sympathetic for the son of Lucifer. Especially when he was fairly certain the whole thing was a ruse. “He’s not my concern, you are. And he’s dangerous, whether he means to be or not. I’m sorry, Gavin. I wish there was another way, but there’s not.”

“There is, but you’re refusing to see it! You refuse to even consider that he’s not just like Lucifer, don’t you? Admit it!”

“Because I know the facts. Gavin-”

He turned away from him. “I don’t think there’s a point to continuing this. You and father have already made up your minds. You don’t need me to agree to anything, and I’m not going to.”

Dean sighed in defeat as he rose to his feet. “I’ll come get you when it’s time for dinner.”

“Don’t bother.” He threw himself back down onto his bed. “I won’t eat.”

He opened his mouth, but quickly realized that no matter what he said, it wouldn’t change anything. He shook his head sadly and walked out the door, pulling it closed behind him.

He found Crowley in the kitchen with a glass of scotch. Dean sat down beside him and a second glass was slid over to him.

“So?” Crowley asked without much hope in his voice.

“He doesn’t see why it’s a problem,” Dean sighed before taking a drink. “He insists Jack isn’t like his father.”

“Course he does.” He shook his head. “Well, he doesn’t have a choice in the matter. I already called the school and got him moved to another class.”

“Good. I mean, Gavin will be pissed, but I don’t see that we have any other option.”

“That’s because we don’t. I suppose we could just pull him out of the school, but that would be suspicious. If Lucifer asks about him changing classes I can say that the teacher wasn’t sensitive to his situation. But pulling him out of the best private school in the area after just one day… there’s no excuse he’d believe.”

“So, you think Lucifer put Jack up to this, too,” he observed.

“Almost definitely.”

Dean nodded in agreement. “Yeah, that’s what I was thinking. So, you think that means the FBI trick didn’t work?”

“Not necessarily…” Crowley mused. “Lucifer likes to have as tight a grip on people as possible. And essentially – I’m all he as left, so that goes double for me. If our sons became friends, it’s just more insurance.”

“Makes sense, I guess – in his warped, twisted way. Seriously, we have got to find a way to take him down for good. It was one thing when he was just causing strain for us, but now he’s brought Gavin into it, too.”

“What do you think I’ve been trying to do for the past fifteen plus years? It’s not as easy as you’d think.”

“Well, you didn’t have me those fifteen years, did you?” Dean winked. “Don’t worry,” he continued more seriously as he reached out and squeezed Crowley’s arm. “We’ll figure something out. We’ve already beaten a lot of odds.”

“Yes. Let’s just hope our luck doesn’t run out.”


	8. Unpleasant Surprises

Despite several attempts by both Dean and Crowley, Gavin held to his refusal to come down for dinner that night. Unwilling to let him go without eating, Dean had to settle for making him up a plate and leaving it in the fridge for him to heat up later.

“Don’t worry,” Crowley said when Dean finally took his seat at the table. “You get used to him being mad at you.”

Dean sighed. “He’ll get over it eventually.” He had to, right?

Before Crowley could reply, Dean’s phone started ringing. “That’ll be Sammy,” he said, answering it and bringing it to his ear. “Hey.”

“Hey,” Sam responded. “How’d Gavin’s first day of school go?”

“Yeah… could’ve gone better,” he muttered.

“What happened?” he asked, worry audible in his voice. He may not have spent a whole lot of time with Gavin when he’d been in town for Christmas, but he still took his role of uncle very seriously.

“He decided to go and become besties with Lucifer’s son.”

Sam was silent for a few seconds. “So… he made a friend?” he asked slowly.

“Yeah, _Lucifer’s son,”_ he repeated pointedly. “And now we’re the bad guys for telling him he can’t hang out with him anymore.”

“You… Dean, Jack can’t be held responsible for what his father’s done. Cas says he’s actually a really good kid.”

“Yeah, good at manipulation – just like his father. He’s raising a little mini-me because that’s the only reason he wanted a kid in the first place. And he probably told Jack to befriend Gavin in the first place so that he’d have a greater hold on Crowley.”

Sam groaned. “Please tell me you didn’t say that to Gavin.”

“The kid needs to know what’s going on. He needs to be aware of the danger.”

“Maybe. But he was already terrified he wasn’t going to be able to make friends, and then you told him that you think the only reason he did make a friend was to manipulate Crowley? That’s a hard hit.”

“I know,” he sighed. “I know I should’ve handled it more delicately or whatever, but it doesn’t change the facts. Gavin would’ve been pissed no matter what.”

“Well yeah, he would’ve been. And I can’t say I blame him, either.”

“Oh?” Dean challenged. It hadn’t even occurred to him that his brother wouldn’t take his side on this. The fact that Jack couldn’t be trusted just seemed so obvious.

“Yeah, I mean, they’re both just kids. And kids that have both been through quite a bit, I might add. They should be able to be friends.”

He got up from the table, pacing out of the room as he said angrily, “So, you’re saying that it’s okay if Gavin’s in danger because they’re just kids?”

“Of course not!” Sam protested. “I’m saying he’s not _in_ danger! Really Dean, what do you think Jack is going to do?”

“I don’t know. I just know that I don’t want my son associating with people like Lucifer. And I think that’s perfectly reasonable.”

“Right, but you don’t know that Jack is like Lucifer.”

“Oh, yes I do!” he argued immediately. “He’s a little, mini-Lucifer and he’s using _my son_ to help his father have a greater hold over Crowley.”

“That’s all speculation. Besides, from what Cas has said, Jack and Lucifer have a lot of issues.”

“Have you ever thought that Jack is saying whatever will make people trust him? It’s what Lucifer would’ve taught him to do.”

“I trust Cas’s opinion,” Sam said simply.

Dean sighed. “Well, you can believe whatever you want. You have no say in this.”

“I know I don’t. But Gavin does. And if you lay down the law, forbidding him from seeing Jack, he’ll find a way around it. I always did.”

He scoffed. “Don’t compare this to you rebelling against Dad-”

“Why not? You’re doing exactly what he always did – playing the drill sergeant. And you know what? That doesn’t work on everybody. And I have a hunch it’s not gonna work on Gavin.”

Dean chewed that over for a minute before shaking his head. “Doesn’t matter. He’s not gonna have any opportunity to see Jack. Crowley and I will make sure of it.”

“Look,” Sam reasoned. “From my understanding, Jack is desperate for friends, just like Gavin. You’re hurting them both – and I don’t care what you say about hurting Jack not being your problem, he’s still an innocent kid.”

“No he ain’t. And this’ll be best for Gavin in the long run. He’ll see that eventually.”

“Do what you want, Dean,” he sighed. “But this isn’t going to end well.”

“Just do me a favor and if Gavin brings it up to you, don’t tell him you think I’m wrong. That’ll just make him more pissed.”

“Course,” he muttered, clearly reluctant. “But I won’t lie to him, either. I’m not helping you in this.”

“Fine,” he said with a shrug. “I don’t need your help. And I’ve gotta go. Bye.” He hung up the phone before Sam had a chance to respond.

When he walked back into he kitchen, Crowley was looking at him expectantly. “I’ll take it moose doesn’t agree with our parenting decisions?”

“It’s only because he’s been listening to Cas,” Dean sighed as he sat back down in his seat and picked up his fork.

“Who only knows Jack through Gabriel, who refuses to believe that most of his family is evil,” he said with a roll of his eyes.

“I think he believes it about Lucifer at least, he just chooses to overlook it,” he pointed out. “Are his other siblings really that bad?” he asked with a slight frown. He’d heard Gabriel and Castiel mention their other siblings, but he didn’t really know anything about them.

“I don’t know that they’re as bad as _Lucifer,_ but I do know that Michael especially is a real piece of work. And Raphael more or less just follows his lead. They even work together.”

“Where at?” he asked curiously.

“They’re on the management team of some local company. Can’t remember off the top of my head. I have it in the file on their family, if you’re that curious.”

Dean snorted. “You have a file on the Shurley’s, why am I not surprised?”

“Know your enemy.”

His eyebrows furrowed slightly as a thought occurred to him. “Hang on, is that why you started sleeping with Gabriel?” He had never been explicitly told, but knowing Crowley, the benefits had come before the friendship with the two of them.

Crowley shrugged. “It was a factor. The only brother that hadn’t shunned Lucifer – I couldn’t exactly pass up the opportunity to get close to him.”

“Does he know?”

“I’m sure he suspects. He’s not a complete idiot. For someone who refuses to take a side in his family squabble, he certainly as no problem aligning himself with enemies of his brother.”

“He’s gotta choose a side eventually, right?” It made no sense to Dean how Gabriel could stay so neutral throughout all of this. He hated everything Lucifer did, but he never did anything about it.

“I’ve known him for eighteen years, and nothing has made him budge yet.”

“Damn, you’re old,” Dean teased.

Crowley glared at him, causing him to laugh. It felt good. With everything that was going on, he needed some laughter in his life.

Crowley’s glare shifted into a smile as he watched him, but slowly, that faded away. “I know we said after the holidays we’d… discuss things, but-”

Dean cut him off with a kiss. It lasted for a couple minutes, and when Dean pulled back, he didn’t go very far. “I’m done eating if you are,” he said in a low voice.

A grin spread over Crowley’s face.

Yeah, Dean needed laughter. When it felt like every time they gained the upper hand in their life, something else came along to knock them back down, he needed to find a way to be happy. And that way was Crowley. He didn’t need to be fighting with him right now, to be causing rifts, he just needed to be with him. So maybe he didn’t know his past, but he knew that they loved each other, and for now at least, that would have to be enough.

* * *

 

It was clear that Gavin hadn’t been raised to live by the saying, ‘forgive and forget’. With time, things did get better, but even two months later it was clear that he hadn’t quite forgiven them for how things had gone down with Jack. Dean had tried talking to his brother about it a few times, but those conversations always led to Sam suggesting inviting Gabriel over one of the times that he was watching Jack, and Dean had quickly learned not to ask him for advice on this.

Still, he was happy when Sam came home for Spring Break, thinking that some time with an adult he didn’t hold resentment towards could be good for Gavin. And Gavin was definitely more than happy with the idea of spending his days with Sam while Dean and Crowley were at work. Dean just wasn’t sure whether his excitement came from seeing his uncle or from getting away from his parents. Either way, it was good to see his smile, so Dean allowed himself to pretend it was just caused by seeing Sam.

“Are you sure it’s wise to leave him with someone who could and would take his side against ours?” Crowley had asked when Dean first brought it up to him.

“Sam promised me he wouldn’t say anything to him about it,” Dean had responded confidently. “He won’t go back on that. Besides, who else are we gonna get to watch Gavin while we’re both gone? He’s out of school, Sam’s home, it works out perfectly.”

And Dean truly believed that. Despite his and Sam’s differences, despite their recent issues and broken trust, he was confident that Sam would never betray him where Gavin was concerned. So, Dean didn’t quite know what to think when he came to pick up Gavin from Bobby’s on Thursday and saw that he and Sam weren’t alone.

Castiel wasn’t that much of a surprise to see, and while he would have preferred it if Sam had asked if he was comfortable with him being around Gavin, he ultimately would have been okay with it. But that wasn’t the problem. Dean’s gaze was immediately drawn to the couch where Gavin sat next to another boy his age. A boy who could only have been Jack.

Dean’s expression was a mixture of incredulous and furious as his eyes sot out Sam’s. “What is going on here?” he demanded.

Gavin looked up at his voice, the smile on his face fading. “Dad…”

Jack followed his gaze and smiled. “You’re his dad? Hi, I’m Jack. It’s nice to meet you!”

Dean ignored him. “Gavin, get in the car now,” he said tensely without taking his gaze off his brother, who at least had the decency to look sheepish.

“Dean, it’s not what you think,” Sam said urgently. “Why don’t Jack and Gavin go into the other room, and we can talk?”

“Oh, hell no,” he protested vehemently. “Gavin, car. Now.”

“But-” Jack piped up, his expression crumpling. It was almost convincing. Almost.

“Dean, there is no harm in them going into the other room,” Castiel stepped up. “I will go with them, if it would make you feel better.”

“Let me tell you something, Cas,” Dean rounded on him. _“Nothing_ that could happen here could possibly make me feel better. Gavin.” He turned to his son expectantly.

Gavin exchanged a quiet, disappointed goodbye with Jack, and then got to his feet. He looked pointedly at Dean before he turned to Sam. “I had a really, _really_ great time today. Thank you.” He glanced at Castiel, as though to extend his thanks to him, then he walked out the front door.

Dean breathed a slight sigh of relief. At least there were now a couple walls separating the two boys. He turned back to his brother, anger burning in his eyes. “Okay, seriously Sam – what the hell?” He was aware of Castiel leading Jack into another room, but his attention was fixated on Sam.

“I swear Dean, I didn’t arrange this,” he said fervently. “I wouldn’t. It was supposed to just be Cas coming over.”

“So, what? He just brought Jack with him?” Castiel wasn’t always the most knowledgeable of social norms, but that seemed extreme, even for him.

“No,” he sighed. “I guess Gabriel was watching Jack today – it’s the only time Cas ever gets to see him, but when Gabriel called he told him that he couldn’t today because he was with me and we were watching Gavin. But then…”

“He showed up,” Dean finished grimly. Now that _was_ something he could see Gabriel doing. He glanced around the living room. “He still here?”

Sam shook his head. “He said he was going to get some food.”

“How long ago?”

He checked his watch. “About half an hour.”

He nodded thoughtfully. “And how long was he hear before that?”

“I don’t know… not too long.”

“So, Jack has been here for probably over an hour, and you didn’t think to call me?” he asked incredulously.

“You were at work! What could you have done about it?”

“Oh, I don’t know, maybe tell Gabriel to get that little demon spawn the hell away from my kid! The same thing that you should have done, by the way.”

“It’s not like I just invited them in!” Sam’s voice rose slightly in defense. “I told Gabriel that I wasn’t comfortable with this, that he should go, but he wouldn’t listen.”

“Yeah, I can tell you really fought against it.”

“You didn’t see how happy Gavin was when Jack got here. So no, I didn’t forcefully throw Castiel’s brother and his _nephew_ out of the house when that would have crushed Gavin and Jack both.”

Dean shook his head in disbelief. “This isn’t about Gavin’s feelings, it’s about his _safety.”_

“He was perfectly safe! Seriously, Dean, you need to just give Jack a chance. He’s a great kid, honestly.”

“I’m telling you, he’s not! Why can’t anyone see this?”

“Maybe you should be asking yourself why you’re the only one who does,” he said softly.

Dean opened his mouth to respond, but then he heard the front door open and he marched toward it.

“Hey, why’s Gavin-?” Gabriel started, but he was cut off with a punch to the face. “What the hell, Dean?” he demanded after he regained his balance.

“You brought Jack around my kid, that’s what the hell!” he shouted.

“Woah, hey!” He held up his hands in defense. “I was just trying to make two sad kids happy, and this is the thanks I get?”

“Oh, don’t act all innocent! I know you have no respect for boundaries, but this is crossing a line, even for you!”

“Oh really, Dean?” Gabriel’s eyes narrowed slightly. “It was crossing a line to bring my nephew to see his friend that he never gets to see?”

“They’re not friends!” Dean said furiously. “I forbade Gavin from talking to him.”

“Yeah, and that’s what you don’t get. You tell a kid not to do some stupid, self-destructive thing, they’ll be upset but will eventually learn you were right. You forbid a kid from doing something and refuse to listen to their side of things? First chance they get, they _will_ rebel. Trust me, I’ve seen it firsthand. And sorry to break it to you, but Gavin is actively searching for that opportunity. They second I showed up, he was begging Sam to let Jack stay.”

“Don’t talk like you know Gavin better than I do-”

“I didn’t say that. But I do know the consequences you’ll be facing if you continue on like this. Sam sees it to, don’t you?” He turned to Sam, who had evidently stepped up behind Dean.

“Yeah, I do,” Sam admitted. “I was the same way whenever Dad gave me orders.”

 “I’ve already explained to Gavin why things have to be this way,” Dean pointed out. “It’s not like I gave him an order with no reason behind it.”

“Yeah, and it clearly did the trick,” Gabriel commented sarcastically. “Gavin is perfectly content cutting ties with Jack.”

He turned back to him with a glare. “You know what? The only people whose opinion carries _any_ weight here are me and Crowley. He’s our kid, not yours, so you can stay the hell out of this.”

“Fine,” he shrugged. “But I suggest you keep in mind what I said, Dean.”

He shook his head irritably as he pushed past him. “Oh, and Sam?” he looked back over his shoulder as he opened the door. “You are _not_ watching him tomorrow.”

“Dean, I swear-” Sam started, but Dean was already walking out the door. So much for Gavin spending time with Sam being a good thing. Now all Dean could do was hope that the damage that had been done wasn’t irreparable.


	9. The Waiting Game

“You have got to be bloody kidding me,” Crowley growled, running a hand over his face.

“I wish I was,” Dean sighed.

Dean had read Gavin the riot act the entire ride home, and when they’d arrived, he’d sent him straight to his room. By the time Crowley had arrived, Dean had spent about an hour obsessing over everything that had happened and had managed to work himself up even more – something he wouldn’t have thought was possible, given how upset he had been when leaving Bobby’s. As soon as his boyfriend had turned into the kitchen, he’d launched into recounting the evening’s events. Now Crowley was sitting across from him, looking just as angry and overwhelmed as Dean was sure he looked.

“How long were they there together?” Crowley asked, dropping his hand as he looked across the table at him.

“Sam’s not sure exactly,” he muttered, his concern tangible in his voice. “Over an hour, though.”

“And he definitely saw you?” Worry creased Crowley’s forehead, adding to the emotions racing across his face.

“Oh yeah. Tried to charm me over and everything.”

“But did he hear your name?” he pressed urgently.

Dean tried to think back. “I dunno… probably. Hell, he probably heard it before I even got there. He was with Sam.” He shook his head. “I just can’t believe he did this. I mean, even if it was all Gabriel’s doing, he should’ve done _something_ to put a stop to it.”

“I agree, but it is true that Gabriel is nearly impossible to put a stop to once he gets his mind fixed on something. I just never thought I’d have to worry about _this_ from him.”

“Oh yeah, I gave him an earful. Got the impression it didn’t have any effect, though.”

“It never does.”

He sighed as he leaned forward, his elbow resting on the table. “So, what do we do?”

“I don’t know what options we have left, at this point,” Crowley admitted. “I’m still trying to find a way to bring down Lucifer, but given that we haven’t had any luck yet, we can’t count on that option panning out in time to make a difference. We just have to be on our toes while we wait for it all to play out. Nothing came of Jack seeing you here on Halloween, so there is the chance that he truly doesn’t know who you are or the value of the information he has.”

“So, do nothing, basically?” Dean demanded, a note of irritation in his voice. He couldn’t just sit around, he needed to take some kind of action. There was too much at stake here.

“Do you have any better ideas?”

“No,” he muttered reluctantly.

“Then we wait. And stay ready for the worst.”

Crowley’s phone began to ring, and he sighed in exasperation when he picked it up and looked at the screen. “Your brother’s calling _me_ now.”

Dean had indeed been getting calls from Sam ever since he’d left Bobby’s, but he was resolutely ignoring him. He knew the blame for what had happened couldn’t be placed entirely on Sam, but while he hadn’t been the cause, he had allowed it, and that was still a betrayal in Dean’s eyes.

“Ignore him,” Dean said with a shrug.

He glared across the table at him. “I’d love to. But something tells me it won’t put a stop to anything.” He answered his phone and brought it to his ear. “Hello, moose. You have some explaining to do.”

He couldn’t hear what Sam was saying, but judging from Crowley’s expression it was more of the same excuses that Dean had already relayed to him.

“Well, you should never let Gabriel know where you are unless you want him to show up there, that’s just a given…. And who allowed Castiel around my son? You did. So therefore, you are responsible for his stupidity.” He paused to listen before looking up at Dean. “I don’t think he wants to talk to you.”

Dean sighed and held out his hand. He may not want to talk to his brother, but he wasn’t going to just hide behind Crowley while he did all the talking for him.

“But he will anyway,” Crowley continued before passing the phone off to Dean.

“You know I’m not gonna say anything different than Crowley, right?” Dean said as he brought the phone to his ear.

“Maybe not,” Sam sighed. “But at least with you it’s less irritating.”

“Alright, well, I stand by what I said earlier – you should have put a stop to it.”

“How, Dean?” he demanded. “You know Gabriel better than I do – you know he doesn’t back down.”

“So, you shouldn’t have let him into the house in the first place. You knew he had Jack with him. As soon as he pulled into the driveway, you should have bolted the door.”

“I didn’t know why he was here, though!” Sam protested. “For all I knew, there could have been an emergency and he needed to get to Cas. I’d only met the guy _once._ I never even imagined that he’d show up at someone he doesn’t even know’s house unless it was important.”

“Alright,” he allowed because even he had to admit that Sam made a good point there. Unless you knew Gabriel, you would never suspect the lines he would cross. “But then you open the door, find out what’s really going on, and this is the part where you slam it in his face!”

“I couldn’t, Dean! He was pushing his way in immediately, and then Gavin saw Jack, and there wasn’t anything I could do.”

“The hell there wasn’t,” he snapped. “You’re the adult, Gavin’s the child. You choose where to draw the line.”

“But I told you from the beginning, I’m not going to help you draw a line where it shouldn’t be drawn,” he said evenly. “I wasn’t going to bend over backwards to tear two kids apart. I just couldn’t do that. And I’m sorry, I am, but I did everything I was comfortable with to uphold your rules that you know I don’t agree with. That’s the most you can ask of anyone.”

Dean didn’t see it that way, but he knew that Sam wasn’t budging. “Yeah, but Sam, do you realize the position you put me in?” he asked, running a hand over his face. “Jack _saw me_ there. He heard Gavin call me dad. He’s _going to_ tell Lucifer.”

“No, he’s not. Gabriel said he made Jack swear not to tell Lucifer anything about today. He said he was happy to do it, too.”

“Oh, I’m so sorry! I didn’t realize the oh-so-trustworthy child of _Lucifer_ gave his word. Because nothing could possibly go wrong there.”

“Dean,” Sam said crossly. “I trust Jack, okay?”

“Well, you’re wrong to. And you’ve already admitted you didn’t get a good read on Gabriel the first time you met him, so you clearly aren’t the best judge of character here.”

“Seriously, Dean-”

“No,” he interrupted firmly. “I’m done listening to this. You’re going to keep defending all this crap, and we’re just going to go in circles. I know you’re sorry, I know you didn’t mean for things to play out like they did, but it’s what happened. So, let’s just move on, shall we?”

Sam hesitated, then sighed, “Alright, fine.”

“Good. Now, if you’ll excuse me while Crowley and I go cross our fingers and hope that Lucifer doesn’t ruin our lives.”

“Dean-” But Dean had already hung up the phone.

* * *

 

Dean had known he would hate sitting back and waiting to see if Lucifer made a move, but he hadn’t realized just how bad it would be. He had never been the most relaxed person – losing your mom at a young age could do that to you – but he didn’t think he had ever been quite this on edge before. And he knew it showed, but he couldn’t manage to hide it.

“I wish you would realize that it’s all going to be fine,” Gavin said at dinner one night. His week-long punishment of being grounded had ended the night before, and it had put him in a slightly better – though still not good – mood.

“Well, that’s the problem, Gavin,” Dean sighed. “We don’t know that it’s going to be.”

“Jack doesn’t want to hurt us,” he insisted.

Dean just shook his head as he turned to look at Crowley, who was doing only a slightly better job of keeping a level head. “How long do you think we’ll have to hold our breath till we’re in the clear?” On the one hand, Lucifer had had plenty of chances to do something in the past week if he had been so inclined, but on the other hand… it was Lucifer. There was no telling what he might have up his sleeve at any given time.

“Hard to tell,” Crowley said. “He could be gathering resources before he makes a move-”

“He’s not going to make a move!” Gavin cut in, more irritation creeping into his voice, but Crowley continued as if he hadn’t heard him.

“Or he could be biding his time for some other reason.”

 _“Or_ Jack didn’t tell him anything. Which is the truth.”

“Or that,” Crowley conceded with a nod towards his son. “As we said before, he might not realize who you-”

“Ugh, would you two stop it!” Gavin shouted as he leapt to his feet and strode angrily from the room.

Dean gave Crowley a pointed look.

“What?” he demanded. “He needs to realize we’re not messing around with this.”

“I know,” Dean sighed. “But maybe there are ways to handle it without pissing him off even more.”

He glanced back toward the door that Gavin had just stormed out of. “I’m not sure that’s possible.”

“Yeah, well…” he sighed. “I’ll try talking to him tomorrow. Make sure he knows we’re not mad at him, we’re just on edge because of how dangerous things are right now.”

“Didn’t you already give him that speech?” he asked as he turned back to him.

“Yeah, but sometimes it’s easier to listen to after some time has passed.”

The next day was a Saturday, so Dean stayed home with Gavin while Crowley went to work.

“Hey,” he said gently, sitting down on the couch beside his son, whose attention was fixed on the TV even though it was a commercial break. “Your father and I… you know we’re just worried, right?”

“Yeah, I know,” Gavin said without taking his eyes off the screen. “But you don’t have to be.”

“Well, we disagree. What happened last week-”

“I know I was wrong to disobey you,” he sighed as he finally turned to look at him. “But the rule was stupid. So… I’m not sorry.”

“It was dangerous.”

“So you say. I disagree.”

Dean sighed, resting his hand on his shoulder. “Just because you don’t believe in the danger, doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist.”

Gavin was opening his mouth to respond, but then there was a knock at the door. Dean looked up with a slight frown. “Hold that thought.” He squeezed Gavin’s shoulder as he got to his feet and walked out to the entryway.

Not many people knew the gate code, so there was only a small selection of people who could be at the door – very few of which had a reason to be there. The criminal enterprise had been disbanded, it wasn’t like Benny to just drop by unannounced… maybe it was Gabriel come to argue his case some more.

Dean pulled open the front door, already ready to yell at him so more, only it wasn’t Gabriel that stood before him. It was Lucifer.


	10. All Hell Breaks Loose

Dean’s brain felt sluggish, unable to fully process what was happening. This couldn’t be real. Lucifer couldn’t be standing right in front of him. But there he was. On Crowley’s front step. And he – Dean Winchester – had answered the door. All hell was about to break lose if he didn’t figure out a way to stop it. But there had to be a way… right? Because if there wasn’t, he and Crowley were about to lose everything. And he _couldn’t._ Not after his life had finally gotten back on track.

“Dean Winchester,” Lucifer said with a small smile, the surprise in his voice obviously feigned. He had been expecting this. Still, he made an almost comical show of looking around as though to see if he had knocked on the wrong door. “Do you often make a habit of hanging around the houses of people who used to beat you?”

Dean’s instincts kicked in and his eyes narrowed slightly as he crossed his arms over his chest. “I try not to. But I go where the work is.” It was a long shot, he knew that, but he had to take it.

Lucifer raised his eyebrows, his expression openly curious. “The work?”

“Repairing the air conditioning,” he lied easily.

“While Crowley’s at work?” he pressed.

He frowned. “It’s pretty common, actually – doing repair work while the homeowner is at work. But hey-” He shrugged as he uncrossed his arms. “You want to think I’m chummy with Crowley, go right ahead. Anything that ruins that bastard’s day is fine by me.”

“And you sound like just the kind of person I’d want in my house when my son’s home alone. I have _got_ to talk to Crowley about his parenting decisions,” he said, shaking his head.

“Hey, I would _never_ take revenge on someone’s kid, okay?” Dean snapped, going tense at the mention of Gavin. “I don’t care how much I hate the guy, there’s some lines you just don’t cross.”

Lucifer pursed his lips thoughtfully as he met Dean’s gaze. “Why not?” he asked simply, the implication making Dean’s blood run cold. The corners of his mouth turned up slightly as he continued, “Speaking of the boy, though; I’m actually here to pick him up. So, if you don’t mind…” He gestured with his hand, clearly indicating for Dean to move out of his way.

Dean’s jaw clenched and he took a step forward, blocking the doorway even more so. “I think you need to leave.”

“What? Without Gavin?” The surprise in his voice was over-done as he furrowed his brows in mock-confusion. “You can’t keep the kid from me. You have no claim to him, whereas I’m practically his godfather.”

His blood boiled with rage, but he forced himself to keep his cool. “Sorry, company policy. We can’t just let people into our client’s house, and we _definitely_ can’t let psychopaths pick up their kids.”

“Ouch,” Lucifer brought his hand to rest over his chest. “That hurts, Dean. What did I ever do to you?”

Dean scoffed. “You’re kidding me, right? You and your prison have a fucking vendetta against my family!”

“Now, that’s just not true. I don’t like you,” he admitted when he saw Dean’s skeptical expression. “Definitely don’t like your father – not that that matters much, anymore. I did like Mary, though. Lovely woman. Had a lot of _spunk.”_ The smile that he gave Dean made him feel like he was going to be sick.

He remembered what Lilith had said in regards to Azazel going after his mom, _“Lucifer would mention something he wanted, and Azazel would blow it out of proportion…. You thought Azazel acted of his own initiative? How cute.”_ Crowley had said she was just playing him, but what if…? “How did you know my mom?” he demanded.

“Oh no, I’m not here to reminisce about the past. I’m here for Crowley’s kid.” He braced his hand against the door frame so that he could lean forward, calling over Dean’s shoulder. “Gavin! Yoo-hoo! Your father sent me to get you!”

Dean placed his hand on Lucifer’s chest and shoved him backwards. “You’re not taking the kid,” he said firmly.

“Okay, see now it sorta seems like you’re trying to keep him from his father. So, you can either let the kid come with me, or I can call the police.” He slid his hands into his pockets as he shrugged casually. “Think I’ll stay here while they search the place, too. Make sure you haven’t planted anything.”

 “What’s going on?” Dean heard Gavin’s tentative voice behind him as he stepped into the entryway.

“Gavin, hi!” Lucifer greeted cheerily. “Do you know this man?” he asked, pointing at Dean.

“Don’t you talk to him!” Dean growled. There was no way out of this. Either he let Lucifer call the police, whose search would not only confirm that he and Crowley were living together but would also produce a good amount of incriminating evidence against them. Or he let the bastard take Gavin, who he would undoubtable use to manipulate Crowley in some way. Only one option had a chance of playing out in their favor, but like hell was he putting his son at risk for that chance. “Gavin, go to your room and stay there,” he called sharply over his shoulder.

“But-”

“Just go!” The urgency in his voice was enough that Gavin only hesitated a moment before he turned around and darted up the stairs.

“Wow,” Lucifer whistled. “Some maintenance guy.”

Dean sighed as he turned back to him, barely resisting the urge to punch the cocky grin off his face. “What do you want?” he asked tensely.

“Hmm. Oh, there’s so many things. But I think I’ll start with you and Crowley rotting in a jail cell.”

He scoffed. “It’s not against the law for a former prisoner and a guard to date. We didn’t even get together till after I got out.”

“Oh, of course not,” he agreed, but then he frowned thoughtfully. “Although… considering that Crowley’s the one that miraculously uncovered evidence to clear your name, it does seem awfully suspicious.” He shrugged with a not-so-apologetic smile.

“Sheriff Mills found that evidence,” he argued heatedly.

“Oh, actually, no. Someone gave it to her anonymously. Yeah…” He nodded as though he was delivering shocking news. “I’ve been looking into it ever since your little brother paid Crowley a visit at the prison – the accusations! I mean, as warden, it was my duty to investigate these claims against one of my _most trusted_ guards, and… well, it’s not looking too good for him. He’s who presented the evidence to Sheriff Mills, and now you’re free and have moved in with him…. It almost looks as though he fabricated evidence to get his boytoy out of prison.”

“He didn’t fabricate anything,” Dean snapped.

“Maybe. Maybe not.” He sighed. “But it doesn’t matter. Once I’m through, neither of you will know freedom ever again.”

His fists clenched at his sides. “Why come here? Why tell me all this?”

“Oh, I needed a confirmation! But mostly, I just wanted to time it right. You know, you being home with the kid, Crowley leaving work in about…” he looked at his watch, “five minutes. Oh, and his phone got broken at work today, so you can’t call him to warn him. If you want my advice, I’d pack up and leave before he gets back. There’s no way you’ll make it before the police get here otherwise. He’ll be arrested, of course, but you _might_ have a head start.” He gave him a last smile before he turned and started back towards his car. “It was good seeing you again, Dean,” he called over his shoulder.

Dean slammed the door behind him, his heart pounding, adrenaline coursing through his veins. He had to move fast. The office would need to be cleared out, and he needed to pack up the essentials. If he had all of that ready to go, they could take off the second Crowley got back. They could make it out before the police got there. He knew they could.

He sprinted up the stairs, throwing Gavin’s bedroom door open when he reached it. “You need to pack. Now.”

Gavin’s eyes were wide with worry. “What’s going on?”

“Lucifer’s coming after Crowley and me. The police are on their way. We need to go.”

“But Father-”

“He’s on his way home. Doesn’t have his phone, so I can’t warn him, but we’ll be ready the second he gets here. But we have to _move.”_

Gavin nodded sharply and got to his feet, pulling out his backpack. Satisfied, Dean raced to the office. They could get new clothes if they ran out of time, but there was no fixing things if the police found records of all the people they had blackmailed.

“How can I help?” Gavin appeared in the doorway a couple minutes later.

Dean barely glanced up from the box he was throwing things in. “Go to your father and mine’s room and start shoving clothes into a duffle bag.”

He nodded once, then quickly left the room. Under normal circumstances, Dean knew Crowley would throw a fit over his suites being thrown haphazardly into a bag, but that really wasn’t his concern at the moment.

Between the two of them, it didn’t take long at all to get everything packed and thrown into the trunk of the Impala.

“Get in,” Dean said as he closed the trunk. “We’ll wait in the drive. Can’t afford to waste a single second.”

Gavin didn’t say anything as he climbed into the backseat and Dean pulled the car out of the garage. But when they came to a stop, he spoke softly, “What happens now?”

“I don’t know,” he sighed honestly. “Go into hiding, I guess. Until we can find some way to take Lucifer down.”

The silence that emanated from the backseat was palpable. Dean turned around, giving his son the most comforting smile he could manage. “Hey. We’ll figure it out.”

“How?”

“Lucifer’s claims are false. We just have to prove that.”

“And how will you do that?”

“We’ll come up with something,” he assured him. “Promise.”

Gavin nodded, but he looked unconvinced. Dean was about to say something else, but then Gavin’s eyes snapped up, looking out the windshield. “Dad.”

Dean turned around to see Crowley’s Bentley coming down the drive. He breathed a small sigh of relief as he got out of the car, waving him down.

Crowley came to a stop in front of him and got out, his eyebrows furrowed in confusion. “What’s this?”

“Lucifer. He knows,” he said grimly, watching the horror dawn on the other man’s face. “We’re all packed up, let’s go.”

Crowley made to walk around to the other side of the Impala without hesitation, but at that moment a police car turned onto the property.

“Damn, he really did time it right,” Dean muttered as they both tensed, staring as the car came to a stop beside the Bentley.

“Dean,” the sheriff greeted as she got out of the car.

“Sheriff Mills,” Dean greeted politely. “What did Lucifer tell you?”

She sighed. “Reasonable evidence was provided to raise doubt about the evidence that cleared your name. I cannot say who provided said evidence.”

“Well, you know he’s setting us up, right?” he immediately demanded. “He’s pissed that he doesn’t have Crowley wrapped around his finger and he has all the resources he needs to get his revenge.”

“It doesn’t matter, Dean. I’m supposed to bring you both in for questioning.” She looked from Dean’s hopeless expression to Crowley and back again, then she heaved a deep breath. “So, it’s unfortunate that you were already gone by the time I got here.”

Dean let out the breath he had been holding, hardly able to believe what she was saying. “Thank you, Jody,” he said fervently.

She nodded once. “I hope you have some kind of plan. Because from what I know of Lucifer, he won’t back down.”

“No, he won’t,” Crowley agreed. “But his pride will be his downfall.”

“I hope you’re right,” she sighed. “Now get going. I’m going to have to call in – tell the force to start the search for you.”

“Right,” Dean nodded and they both walked back over to the car. After pulling the door open, he paused, looking back at Jody. “Hey, I don’t suppose you could… delay them for a bit?”

She looked at him incredulously and he hastened to explain. “We’ve gotta stop by Bobby’s, and I know that’s the first place they’re gonna look.” He jerked his chin towards the backseat, where Gavin could be seen through the window. “I’m not putting him through this crap.”

Her glare softened slightly as her eyes flickered toward the backseat. “I’m really sticking my neck out for you here, you know that?”

“And we owe you. Big.”

“Damn right you do,” she muttered. “Fine. But you need to make it fast. I can only hold things up for so long.”

“We’ll only need a few minutes,” he assured her.

“You’d better get moving, then.”

He didn’t say another word before he climbed into the driver’s seat and took off, putting the house and the life he had come to love behind him.


	11. Hiding

When they arrived at Bobby’s, Dean and Crowley started loading all of their stuff into the closest running vehicle while Gavin and Juliet climbed out of the backseat, Gavin holding onto her leash.

“When the police question you, you’ll need to tell them you don’t know what we took from the house and you don’t know where we’re going,” Crowley told Gavin as he worked.

“Well, I _don’t_ know where your going,” Gavin pointed out.

“As you shouldn’t.” He slammed the trunk shut and turned to face him.

“You’re gonna need to explain to Bobby what’s going on,” Dean said, taking Gavin’s bag out of the backseat and handing it to him.

Gavin frowned. “Why can’t you explain?”

“No time. And besides, it’ll be better for Bobby if he never saw us. Now, come here.” He pulled him into a tight hug. “We’ll be back to get you as soon as possible, okay?”

He nodded as he pulled back, his eyes sparkling with unshed tears. Juliet gave a low whine as Gavin took a step towards the house, then he abruptly turned around and threw his arms around Crowley, who nearly stumbled back in surprise. Dean actually managed a small smile as Crowley awkwardly patted his son on the back, then they broke away from each other.

“Be careful,” Gavin muttered, his eyes flickering from Crowley to Dean.

“Don’t worry about us,” Dean assured him. “We’ll be fine.”

“You just need to focus on not letting Bobby rub off on you too much,” Crowley added with a faint grin.

A smile flickered over Gavin’s face as he turned away and walked up to the house, urging Juliet along as she tried to dig her heels in. Fortunately, she had grown rather attached to Gavin and with a little prodding from him, she stopped resisting the tugs on her leash.

Dean wanted to wait around until he saw him go inside, but he knew that if Bobby saw them, he’d be demanding answers that they couldn’t give him. So, he hotwired the car they had loaded up in and they took off. It pained him to leave his car behind, but as Crowley had pointed out on the way to Bobby’s, it would be far too easy for them to be tracked down if they stuck with it. It was a fair point, so he had only dug in his heels a little before giving in.

It was nearly seven o’clock by the time they pulled up outside Benny’s apartment and knocked on the front door.

“I hope you’re right about this,” Crowley hissed, looking around nervously.

“I am,” Dean said with confidence just a second before Benny pulled the door open.

“Dean. Crowley. To what do I owe the pleasure?”

“Unfortunately, no pleasure this time,” Crowley said as he strode into the small apartment without waiting for an invitation. Dean gave his friend an apologetic smile as he followed after him.

Benny closed the door with a sigh as he turned to face the two of them, clearly waiting for an explanation.

Crowley looked around the apartment in distaste. “You’re the head chef at the Glasshouse, and this is the best you can do?” he asked incredulously.

“Don’t want to get too comfortable,” he said with a shrug. “If I’m living well below my means, at least I know I won’t be hurting too bad if it all gets taken away again. So Dean,” he turned his attention to him, “what trouble have you gotten yourself into this time?”

“Lucifer,” Dean explained. “He has the police after us. We were hoping we could hide out here for a while.”

Benny’s eyebrows shot up. “You do realize that I have a parole officer that stops by every now and again?”

“Exactly. It’s the last place anyone would expect two wanted fugitives to be.”

“And there’s a good reason for that.”

“Look, can we stay or not? I know it’s asking a lot, but we don’t have a lot of other options here.”

He threw his hands up in surrender. “If you want to risk it, be my guest. We’ll all go back to Purgatory together.”

“Thanks, Benny,” Dean said gratefully. “But trust me, we won’t get caught.”

“How can you be so sure?”

“Because I know your parole officer,” he said with a grin.

Honestly, it all worked out even better than Dean had figured it would. He suspected that Jody must have guessed where they would be hiding out and had told her best friend, who just so happened to be Benny’s parole officer. He didn’t know for sure that Donna knew that he and Crowley were hiding in the closet every time she came by, but if they didn’t have time to put away the couple extra plates sitting on the table, or if Benny was a little late answering the door while they hid, she never questioned it. Knowing how good Donna was at her job, it stood to reason that she was purposefully ignoring the signs to avoid having to intentionally cover for them.

Of course, Dean and Crowley didn’t just spend the next couple of months hiding out in Benny’s apartment. They’d been looking for a way to take Lucifer down for a while, but now they redoubled their efforts. The sooner they took him down, the sooner they could get back to their lives. Which they eventually had to admit meant calling in reinforcements.

“I don’t like this,” Crowley muttered as he punched the number into Benny’s phone (Crowley had never gotten his fixed and Dean had left his in the Impala so that they couldn’t be tracked).

“Neither do I,” Dean said with a shrug. “We don’t got a lot of options. We can’t get close to Lucifer. We need someone who can.”

Crowley sighed as he made the call, putting the phone on speakerphone.

“Hello?” Gabriel answered on the second ring.

“It’s Crowley,” he said.

He let out a long breath. “What the hell have you gotten yourself into?”

“I haven’t gotten myself into anything,” he growled. “This is your brother’s doing.”

“You know what he’s got on you?”

“My life would be a lot easier if I did,” he said pointedly.

“Well, sorry, but he doesn’t exactly confide in me. If I hear anything I’ll let you know, but I wouldn’t hinge whatever plan you’re cooking on that.”

“Well, that’s the thing. You’re a crafty guy, Gabriel. You put your mind to it, I’m sure you can-”

“Crowley, I’ve already told you. I’ll root for you on the sidelines, but I’m not playing a part in your war against my brother.”

“I’m not sure if you’ve noticed,” Crowley snapped, his tone becoming heated, “but circumstances have changed since our last conversation on the matter. For starters, your brother _threatened_ my son and now has both Dean and myself on the run. So, forgive me if I thought your answer might be different this time around.”

“Look, I’m sorry, but-”

“You’re joking!” Dean interrupted incredulously. “This isn’t a matter of we don’t like Lucifer and want him out of the prison, this is about our lives here!”

“And I told you that if I learn anything that could be of use, you’ll be the first to know. But I’m not playing any bigger role than that. I’m not sure if you’ve noticed, but I’m not exactly a team player over here.”

“I don’t give a damn! We need all the help we can get. And at this point, no one’s closer to Lucifer than you are. Just because you’re too much of a coward to stand up to your brother-”

“That’s not what this is about,” Gabriel protested angrily.

“Bullshit. You’re perfectly capable of helping, you don’t have any real loyalty to Lucifer, the only option that leaves is that you’re afraid.”

“Don’t talk like you know more about this than I do, Dean,” he said coolly. “You only came into the picture a year ago. You don’t know anything about my family.”

“But I do,” Crowley cut in. “And Dean’s right. You’ve never wanted to take sides in your family drama because you’re afraid of the consequences.”

“But guess what, Gabe?” Dean continued the thought. “Choosing to do nothing? That _is_ taking a side.”

“You don’t get it,” Gabriel said tiredly.

“No, I don’t. Because I would never stand by and watch this happen to my friends. So, you know what? You change your mind, call us. Otherwise, stay the hell out of our lives.” He reached forward, hanging up the phone.

“Don’t know why I expected anything different,” Crowley sighed.

“Because you thought he was a decent human being,” Dean muttered irritably.

“Actually, no, I didn’t.” He looked up at him grimly. “Time for Plan B?”

Without a word, Dean made the call.

“Benny?” Castiel answered. “Have you heard anything from Dean?”

“This is Dean,” he said with a slight grin.

“Dean,” he said with surprised relief. “It’s good to hear from you. Where are you?”

“Can’t tell you that. Don’t need to put you at any more risk that I’m doing just by making this call.”

“I want to help,” he said determinedly.

“Good, cause we need it. We need to figure out what Lucifer’s got on us, and so far all of our contacts are coming up with squat.”

“Dean, you know my brother doesn’t tell me anything,” he pointed out. “Gabriel might be able to-”

“Gabriel won’t help us,” Dean cut him off sharply.

Castiel sighed. “And here I thought that this would actually be enough to get him to take a stand.”

“Yeah, us too,” he muttered irritably.

He only paused for a moment before asking, “So, how do you propose I go about getting the information?”

A smile flickered over Dean’s lips at his friend’s willingness to help them, but it quickly faded. It was nice to have a friend that he could call on for help, but this was far more than he had ever wanted to ask of him. “Well… I hate to ask this of you, man, I really do, but… he has to have documentation somewhere. We can’t get close enough to him to search for it, but you might be able to.”

Dean held his breath while Castiel thought it over. He was asking him to put his job at stake here, to even put his freedom at stake, but he didn’t see what other option they had. “I’ll see what I can do,” Castiel agreed.

He breathed a breath of relief. “Thank you,” he said fervently. “And… you think you could not mention to Sam that we talked?”

“Dean, he is worried sick about you,” he protested immediately.

“I know, but the more he knows, the more danger he’s in. He needs to stay in the dark.”

He sighed. “I’m not sure that he’ll agree to stay there.”

Castiel was right. A week later, he texted Benny to warn them that Sam was home on break and was determined to find them. The next morning, there was a knock at the door of Benny’s apartment.

Crowley was out with Castiel, running down a potential lead, so Dean hid away in the bedroom, his ear pressed up against the door to listen as Benny opened the front door.

“Sam, it’s good to-”

“I want to see Dean,” Sam cut him off, his voice not leaving any room for questions.

“Yeah, me too,” Benny replied smoothly. “But no one knows where he is right now. It sucks but… I don’t see that he’s got much of a choice.”

“Cut the crap, Benny,” he snapped. “I know he’s here.”

“Here? Sam… I’m out on parole. I have an officer coming by to check on me-”

“Which makes this the last place anyone would look. I know my brother, and I know he’s here. Dean!” he called into the apartment. “I’m not leaving until you come out!”

Dean sighed. He really should’ve thought about this. Of course Sam would be able to figure out where he was, and he was just stubborn enough refuse to listen to reason and come looking for him anyway.

“Sam, I don’t know what to tell you-” Benny began, but Dean opened the bedroom door and stepped out. When Sam said he wasn’t leaving, he meant it. He’d push Benny aside and search every square inch of the apartment if he had to, so it was best not to let it come to that.

“Hey, Sammy.”

Sam breathed a breath of relief as Benny stepped aside and allowed him to enter the apartment. “Dean, what happened?”

“Lucifer happened,” he sighed, sinking down on the couch. “He found out about Crowley and me.”

“How?” he demanded, walking over to sit beside him. Meanwhile, Benny shut the door and disappeared back into the bedroom to give them some space.

He hesitated. He was past being upset with his brother over what had happened, and he almost didn’t want to tell him, didn’t want to burden him with the guilt, but he deserved the truth. “He saw you when you went to threaten Crowley.”

“I…” He blinked, his expression crumpling. “Shit, Dean, I’m sorry.”

He shrugged. “Nothing we can do about it now. Besides, it was only a matter of time before he found out on his own.”

“So, why did he wait so long before acting?”

“I think he was still gathering information – I mean, there’s still everything with Jack that happened between then and now – and he needed the time to fabricate the evidence against us. Also, he probably wanted to lure us into a false sense of security.” He shook his head. “He turned up at the house a couple months ago and threatened Gavin… backed me into a corner to admit what was really going on.”

The now normal look of disapproval flickered in Sam’s eyes at the mention of Jack, but thankfully he left it alone. “But that gave you the warning you needed to get out,” he pointed out instead with a frown.

“No, it didn’t. Gavin and I got everything incriminating packed up in time for Crowley to get home, but the sheriff pulled in two seconds behind him.”

“She let you go,” he realized.

“Yep. I owe her big time.”

“No kidding. So, what are you doing now?”

“Trying to figure out what Lucifer has on us. Prove it’s fake.”

“And that’s why you need Cas’s help,” he observed. “To get close enough to Lucifer.”

He frowned at him. “Did he tell you he’s helping us?”

Sam laughed. “No. He’s just a really crappy liar.”

“Yeah, you’ve got a point there,” he chuckled. “Don’t know what you see in the guy.”

“We’re not dating, Dean,” he said exasperatedly.

“Could’ve fooled me.”

He just shook his head, looking away from him.

Dean rolled his eyes as he grabbed Benny’s phone off the coffee table and shot Castiel a text. ‘Sams here. When you 2 are done come back.’ Keeping their whereabouts hidden from Castiel had lasted about as long as their second phone call from Benny’s phone. It hadn’t been that hard for him to figure it out, but once the prison guard had officially thrown in his lot with them, it wasn’t like there was much need to keep it a secret anymore.

“Where’s _your_ boyfriend?” Sam asked curiously. “Shouldn’t he be hiding out here, too?”

“Yeah, but he insisted on running down a lead with Cas. Didn’t think he could pull it off on his own, and he snuck out while I was asleep to avoid me insisting that I go instead,” he explained bitterly.

“Good.”

“Oh, come on! Can you even imagine him and Cas working together?” he demanded. Sure, they were more amiable now than they used to be, but no one would call them friends.

“Um, they’ve done it for years, Dean,” he pointed out.

“That’s different,” he snapped. “They mostly avoided each other in the prison – at least when Crowley wasn’t saving his ass.”

“But they can be civil with each other. Or at least they can now.”

Dean sighed. “He still should’ve let me go.”

“You don’t always have to be the one putting yourself in danger,” he said reasonably.

“Well, I can’t just sit back and watch as the people I care about do it instead. Speaking of which,” he pointed at his brother, “you’re not helping.”

“Yeah, I am,” Sam shot back without hesitation. “You’re my brother, and you’re in trouble. You can’t expect me to just sit this one out.”

“Yeah, I can, and I do. It’s too dangerous, Sammy.”

“I don’t care! Look, you’ve been at this since April, and how far have you gotten?”

“Okay, you don’t know Lucifer, you don’t know how-”

“Actually, I do. I’ve been researching him since I heard the police were after you, and unlike you, I’ve actually gotten somewhere.”

“Woah, you don’t know we haven’t gotten anywhere,” Dean snapped defensively.

Sam gave him his bitch face. “Yeah, Dean, I do.”

“Oh, and while in California, you managed to gather all the information we need to take him down?” he challenged.

“No, but I’ve got us a start. And I’ll pursue this on my own, if I have to. Or you can let me help you.”

He sighed. He wanted so desperately for there to be something he could say to dissuade Sam from getting mixed up in all of this, but he knew that if their rolls were reversed, there was nothing on the face of the earth that could get him to back down. He knew a hopeless cause when he saw one.  “Alright, fine,” he relented.

So, when Crowley and Castiel got back, Dean announced to them that Sam was joining their little team.

“Oh, thank god,” Crowley declared. “I feel so much better knowing that we have a pre-law _freshman_ on our side.”

“Sam is very intelligent,” Castiel argued. “I am sure he will be of great help.”

“And I’ve already been digging into Lucifer’s past-” Sam began.

“You think we haven’t done that?” Crowley interrupted.

“And I found an old picture from his high school yearbook,” he continued without pause. He dug into his pocket and pulled out a piece of paper, unfolding it as he spoke. “I thought the girl beside Lucifer looked familiar, and it turns out she was recently arrested, along with the guy on his other side. The other guy in the picture? Dead. That’s quite a coincidence, don’t you think?”

Dean looked down at the picture his brother was holding, and his eyes widened in surprise. He recognized the boy and girl on either side of Lucifer. Sure, they were much younger here, but it was definitely them.

“If we can link Lucifer to their crimes…” Sam was saying. “Maybe we can get them to rat him out.”

“They won’t help us,” Dean sighed, shaking his head.

He frowned. “How do you know?”

“Because, moose,” Crowley answered, his gaze moving up from the picture of Lucifer with Cain and Abaddon. “We’re who sent them to prison.”


	12. A Lead

“Wait, go back to the beginning,” Sam frowned, leaning forward to brace his elbows against his knees.

Dean sighed. “Cain and Abaddon were high school sweethearts, just without anything sweet or loving,” he explained as he paced in front of Sam, Castiel, Benny, and Crowley. “Then Cain fell in love, left Abaddon and their business, and got married. Abaddon threatened him, but he didn’t come back, so she killed his wife and made it look like an accident. He wanted revenge, but he’d promised his wife that he would never do anything unlawful again.

“Five years or so later, I turn up on his doorstep saying that I want to bring down Abaddon-”

“But you really wanted to blackmail her?” Castiel clarified.

“Wow, angel, where’d you get that idea?” Crowley snapped.

“That is what you and Dean used to do.”

“Anyway,” Dean pointedly spoke over him. “He didn’t want to give me anything because the evidence incriminated him too, but I told him I wouldn’t take it to the police, I’d just use it to keep Abaddon in check. He agreed, but it didn’t work. She wouldn’t back down, so we didn’t have a choice. We turned over the evidence and they were both arrested.”

“And now we find out that they used to be friends with Lucifer,” Crowley added. “That would’ve been nice to know going in.”

“No kidding,” he muttered bitterly.

“Did Cain mention anything about his high school friends when you went to see him?” Sam asked.

Dean thought back. “He said that he’d had a falling out with one of them and that Abaddon stood by him.”

“Well, that could’ve been Lucifer. So maybe he’d be willing to talk to us.”

He shook his head. “No. Lucifer knew what Crowley did – bet you anything he immediately knew who was responsible for the arrests. And Cain knew that I was involved – he recognized me the second he opened his door. _That’s_ how Lucifer found out about us. He had no way to know if the things Sam said were true, it wasn’t enough to go off of. So he called on an old friend to see if he knew who Crowley might have on payroll. It doesn’t matter that they had a falling out, Cain was in prison because I betrayed him. If you’re mad and you have nothing left, you don’t always care who’s offering you help.”

“While that’s true,” Benny volunteered, “it doesn’t mean all is forgiven between Cain and Lucifer. Maybe if one of us were to go to him…”

“You’d need to know what caused the falling out,” Crowley instructed. “That way you’ll know what buttons to push.”

“Who was the third boy in the picture?” Castiel asked curiously, turning back to Sam.

“Abel – Cain’s little brother,” Sam said triumphantly.

Everyone’s eyes went wide and a moment of silence echoed through the apartment as that sank in.

“And he’s dead?” Dean confirmed.

“Yeah.”

“Cain’s brother died and then he and Lucifer had a falling out?” Crowley mused. “That’s not a coincidence.”

“Definitely not,” Dean agreed.

“Well, that gives us something to work with,” Benny said.

“We need to find out how he died,” he said, trying not to get too excited. They couldn’t count their eggs before they hatched, and Cain’s brother dying might not have anything to do with Lucifer. Unlikely, but still, he couldn’t get his hopes up.

“On it.” Sam pulled his laptop out of his bag and booted it up.

Dean sighed as he walked over to sit on the arm of Crowley’s chair. Even though he was trying to quiet the surge of hope that was threatening him, it was good to finally feel like they were making some sort of progress. No, they might not be able to get anything worthwhile from Cain after, especially everything that had gone down, but for the first time since Lucifer had shown up on his doorstep, they actually had some kind of lead, something to work with, however thin.

“I’m guessing you and Cas didn’t have any luck today?” he asked as Sam hammered away at his computer.

“Just about as much as we’ve had every other day for the past two months,” Crowley sighed.

“We’re getting somewhere now,” Castiel pointed out.

“Yeah, maybe. Assuming Cain will actually be of any help. So far it looks like he’s only spoken to Lucifer maybe once since high school. Forgive me if I’m not as optimistic that he’ll magically have just the key piece of information we need to gain the upper hand here.”

“Well, it’s the first possible lead we’ve had in over two months,” Dean said reasonably. “We have to explore it.”

“Oh, I’m not arguing that. I just don’t think it will end up going anywhere.”

“Well, aren’t you just a ray of sunshine,” Dean muttered, even though he didn’t necessarily disagree. There was no telling if Cain would be forthcoming in the first place, and even in the unlikely event that he was, what information could he possibly have that would benefit them? Unless Lucifer had decided to bare his soul to the guy when he’d gone to see him to confirm that Crowley had indeed turned traitor (Hah!), the only information he had was from high school, and there wasn’t much good that would do them.

“I think I got something here,” Sam said, breaking Dean out of his morose thoughts. “Holy shit,” he breathed as his eyes scanned down the page.

“What?” Benny asked curiously as everyone turned to give Sam their full attention.

“Cain killed him. I mean, it was ruled accidental, but…” He shook his head. “He was seventeen, starting his senior year of high school, and he burned down this old storage facility. Abel was inside. He admitted to the arson, but swore he had had no idea his brother was inside. Got off pretty easy, all things considered.”

“Damn,” Dean muttered, trying not to think about how that must have been for Cain when he’d found out what he had done. “And do we think Lucifer was involved?”

“What was the name of the storage facility?” Crowley asked as he rose to his feet and walked around to stand over Sam, peering down at his laptop.

“Way ahead of you,” Sam said as he began typing some more. “Okay, it was an older facility… nearly out of business…. Okay, renters…”

“That’s not legal,” he commented with an amused smirk.

He shot a glare at him over his shoulder. “You _really_ have no room to talk on that subject.”

“Oh, I know. But you were the one who was all judgmental about it.”

“Desperate times,” he muttered, turning back to the screen.

“Cassie, you going to be okay with your boyfriend breaking the law?” Crowley teased with mock sympathy.

“Crowley,” Dean snapped while Castiel glared at him. “Give it a rest, will you? They’re helping us.”

He rolled his eyes, but refrained from saying anything more.

“Cas…” Sam began slowly after a minute or so. “What’s your father’s name, again?”

“Chuck,” he answered, the corners of his lips turning down in a slight frown.

He huffed out a small breath. “Chuck Shurley’s on the list of renters.”

Castiel nodded thoughtfully. “So, Lucifer burned down a building that our father was using to store things. Sounds like something he would do.”

“And he got someone else to do the dirty work for him,” Crowley added. “Just his style.”

“Yeah, I’d say that’s probably why Cain and Lucifer had a falling out,” Dean agreed.

“Well, sounds to me like we have enough to push Cain’s buttons,” Benny said. “But you two are the experts.” He looked at Crowley, then Dean.

“You’ve met Cain,” Crowley said, turning to Dean. “What do you think?”

“If anything will get him to talk, this will,” he said confidently. He had gotten Cain to talk the first time by bringing up his deceased wife, and it was through poking at that wound that he’d gotten him to turn on Abaddon. The people he’d loved and lost were his pressure points. If reminding him of how Lucifer had gotten his brother killed didn’t work, nothing would.

“I’ll go,” Sam said, already starting to rise to his feet.

“No,” Dean said firmly.

“Dean, I can handle-”

“It’s not about what you can handle. If we’re right and he’s pissed at me for giving him up, then the second he finds out you’re my brother, we’ve lost all leverage. It has to be someone with no obvious connection to me.”

“I’ll do it,” Benny volunteered.

“You sure?” he checked.

“Yeah. Not like Castiel can do it, anyway. I doubt Cain would be very forthcoming with Lucifer’s little brother.”

“He makes a fair point,” Castiel admitted reluctantly.

“You’ll need to give him a reason to be asking him about it,” Crowley pointed out. “Trust me, people don’t often visit people they don’t know in prison and bring up their tragic backstory.”

“You don’t say,” Benny muttered sarcastically. “I figure I can just be someone else that Lucifer has screwed over.”

“You’ll need more than that. A story that resonates with his without being too similar to be coincidental.”

Benny crossed his arms over his chest. “Well, since you’re the expert…”

“We should use the prison – it’s what you know,” Dean thought out loud. “How about your best friend got beat to death in there while Lucifer just stood by and watched? It’s happened to plenty of people, so it wouldn’t be too much of a stretch. And it’s a perfect reason to want to put a stop to him before it happens to anyone else.”

“Yeah, I can pull that off. It nearly happened, anyway.”

“Great,” Crowley said. “So, here’s hoping that by some miracle Cain knows something useful.”

* * *

 

Benny got back in time for dinner that evening, and as they all gathered around the takeout he had brought home, he told them how everything had gone down.

“Not exactly the most pleasant guy in the world, is he?” he asked, looking at Dean. “Getting him to talk was like pullin’ teeth.”

“But did he?” Crowley pressed.

He smirked. “Course.” He popped a fry in his mouth. “We were right about how everything went down. Apparently, Abel had been the original volunteer to burn the storage facility down. Cain had been dead set against it, but as soon as he found out his brother would be doing the deed, he told Lucifer he’d do it instead. Only Lucifer didn’t pass the change of plan along to Abel. He swore to Cain that it was an accident, that he’d forgot, but Cain said he knew him well enough to know he enjoyed how everything had gone down.”

“Where’d the conversation go from there?” Dean asked.

“I asked him when was the last time he’d talked to Lucifer. And you were right about that, too. Not too long after he was thrown into prison, Lucifer paid him a visit.”

“Don’t suppose he divulged anything interesting about that?” Crowley still sounded doubtful, even while there was a hopeful gleam in his eye as he looked at Benny.

“He said that Lucifer tried to get him back into the fold, so to speak. Apparently, the last living person in his inner circle had turned on him, so he’s now utterly alone.”

“Somehow I don’t see Lucifer getting all teary-eyed over losing his last friend,” Dean commented. “Did Cain say what he did?”

Benny nodded. “He admitted that he gave him some information on someone he wasn’t too fond of just to shut Lucifer up, but he said he made it clear that he was done with him.”

“So, we have nothing,” Crowley summed up.

“Not nothing,” Sam disagreed. “We know that Lucifer likes having people close to him to do his dirty work, and now he’s so desperate that he’s calling up people he screwed over years ago.”

Dean frowned thoughtfully. “So, what are you suggesting? That we get a plant?”

“Maybe.”

“How would we pull that off?” Castiel asked, looking around at everyone.

“Go to places he hangs out, see who he talks to,” Sam suggested. “Maybe we can snag someone.”

“We can’t exactly go to places he hangs out,” Dean pointed out.

“You can’t. But the only thing Lucifer knows about me is that I threatened Crowley when I found out the two of you were together. For all he knows, I’m still pissed about it.”

“Pissed enough to turn on your own brother?”

“To say that you’ve made your bed, so you have to lay in it, at least.”

“He makes a fair point,” Crowley admitted. “And it’s not like he’ll even be talking to Lucifer,” he added when he caught Dean’s glare. “He’s just observing. Right?” He turned on Sam, his eyebrows raised expectantly.

“Yeah, course. I’ll keep my head down.”

Dean shook his head, his teeth gritted in frustration. “I don’t like the idea of you being anywhere near him.”

“It’s not like we have a lot of options. You have any better ideas?”

He had never wished so desperately for a brilliant idea to come to him. Unfortunately, Sam was right – options were the one thing they didn’t have. He sighed reluctantly. “Fine. But I’m going to be hiding outside in case anything goes wrong.”

“Dean, you can’t-”

“Well, you’re not going without me,” he said firmly, leaving no room for debate. “I’ll be well hidden, but if anything goes wrong, I’d rather get arrested than have anything happen to you.”

Sam sighed, resigned. “Fine,” he said irritably. “We’ll both go.”

“Great. Now we just have to find out what the devil himself likes to do in his free time. Sounds like fun.”


End file.
